Destiny Two: Rain Storm
by BrokenHearts159
Summary: Squel to my first story Destiny. Based on the tv show burn notice. Dawnna kinda take Fiona's place though Fiona is still the bomb expert and i do include her still. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!
1. Chapter 1

I trotted up to the open gates to the loft, my claws kicking up rocks and sending them flying. I snorted when I saw Michael washing the Cattilac down. I jumped, shifting in the air and landed neatly.

"Hey, Dawn. Where's Fiona?" Michael said all casually, turning off the water. I huffed and stormed towards him.

"She dumped Campbell. I can't believe you, Michael." I growled. "Forty eight hours ago, we said good bye, possibly forever, and then I get a message from you on my cell…that I should come right over because you have a job." Michael dropped the hose and turned to me.

"Really? Who's the new guy? Dawn, there's a lot going on, so—"

"Marcus. You couldn't start with I'm alive?"

"How close are they? I thought the fact that I was calling covered that."

"Third date in the past two days and that's not the point." I threw a punch at him but he dodged it and grabbed my fist, twisting me around and holding me to his chest.

"Dawn. Dawn. I called because I need you help." His phone rang and I shifted, kicking him in the leg with my hind leg. I shook my fur and sat as Fiona pulled up. I flicked my tail to the top of the steps. She pointed to the dirty ass Cattilac. I shook my head in disgrace. She pointed to Michael, behind me. I bared my teeth and she ascended the steps. I perked my ears up and listened to the phone call.

"What about those men with the guns?" I heard Madeline ask. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"I'm so glad."

"I'm glad too, Mom."

"Bye, Michael." Michael hung up.

"You hadn't called your mom yet?" I questioned him.

"I was going to wait a bit." Michael said slowly. I flicked my tail in dismay and climbed the steps to the loft.

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I sat in the Cattilac with Sam and watched Michael and Mud into the building.

"You're being too hard on Mike." Sam said. "You know, he damned near got himself killed saving me."

"Yeah, and I damned near got myself killed saving the both of you." I snapped. "And then he comes back and acts like nothing happened."

"I'm just saying, I can count on one hand the number of buddies I got…who would stage an armed assault to save my butt, okay? You got Mike, you got—" He trailed off, not able to think of anymore. "The point is Mike is the kind of guy who got your back."

"Gun!" A British voice sounded behind the car. Sam and I turned around to see Michael and two security guards. Michael grabbed a gun from one of them and shot at the car.

"What the hell is he doing?" I grabbed my bow and arrow from the back as Michael shot another bullet and cracked the back window.

"I think we just got recruited into Michael's cover I.D." I said.

"Get down! Get down!" Michael yelled at the security guards. Sam began to back up and I climbed half way out the window and fired a couple arrows. I fired an arrow and it landed between Michael's legs. He glared at me and I smiled and slipped back into the car as Sam drove away.

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I opened the door to the loft and saw Sam and Mud out on the balcony playing cards and Michael was at the counter scribbling something down.

"Figuring out a time when we can have our conversation?" I asked, sitting down at the counter too."

"Dawn, I'm planning a heist. Um—Can—Can you just—I mean, I—I gotta do the job." Michael said.

"First. Right. So what can I do for the job? You never told me that this job requires some stealing."

"Dawnna, you are done with stealing. Every time you steal something you make a new enemy. I need you to get us into Oscar Gene Labs. It's a DNA testing facility one floor above Security Associates. I need to get in there for an hour at night alone, and we're gonna be making a lot of noise."

"So why you, a burned spy, is stealing something, I, a former professional thief, has to manipulate someone's mind. Somehow, this job is all backwards."

"Please, Dawn." I sighed.

"You have a high estimation of my skills, Michael."

"You've earned every bit of it, Dawn."

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"How do you think he's doing in there?" Sam asked. We were sitting outside the building waiting for Michael and Mud.

"It's Michael." I mumbled.

"So, look, uh, Dawn, I gotta go back to Veronica, explain where I've been, why I'm all beat to hell and what happened to the Caddy."

"I'd pay to watch that."

"Oh, come on, Dawn. You're a girl. What do I say?"

"I'm your girl consultant now? When did I sign up for that job? What happened to Fiona?"

"She's too busy with her new boyfriend. Okay, fine, forget it. You know, I got lots of other friends with ovaries. I used to have Fiona, now I just have you—" He trailed off, unable to think of anymore.

"Tell her you got beaten up defending a helpless man…from a gang of ex lowlife soldiers. It's true enough."

"Okay. So I'm the hero."

"And the helpless man." A black SUV pulled up to the building and men got out.

"Aha. Somebody's working late. Better let Mike know." I quickly texted Michael. Next thing I knew, the alarm to the building was going off. "That's not good." Sam began to reach for the car key but I stopped him.

"Give him a minute." Glass shattered from the top floor and it fell to the ground like crystal. "Go." Sam started the engine. Sam drove the car to the building as Michael and Mud dropped out using ropes. They climbed into the back and Sam drove away as bullets began to fly at us.

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"Yeah, Dawn." Michael answered his phone.

"Michael. Fiona got a delivery today." I said. "Someone was kind enough to break into the trunk of her car."

"Yeah, what was it?"

"A present from your friends." I peered in at the guns.

"Tell Fiona to be careful with those. They're very hot."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll take real good care of them. Michael, your mother keeps calling me. These last few days have been a lot for her to handle."

"I know the feeling."

"Go see her, Michael." I hung up. "How's Marcus?"

"Better than Campbell." Fiona answered. "Listen, Dawnna, I know I haven't been around lately, I mean, boyfriends, the beach, Miami,"

"I know, Fiona. Don't worry about it."

"But you seem to be always alone at the house. What about Michael?" I sighed.

"Michael and I aren't as close as I would like us to be."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"I want him, Fiona. I really do. But part of me is telling me no."

"Why?"

"Because I'm scared he'll just pack up and leave like he did in Germany. I can't go through that again. But then we move here to Miami for a new start and a few weeks later, the only guy I had feelings for gets dumped here. It's just make me think maybe this is my…" I couldn't think of the word.

"Destiny."

"Exactly. Destiny. But destiny may be wrong."

"Destiny is never wrong, Dawnna dear. Maybe you just need to trust him more."

"But I trust him with my life, Fiona." It was quiet for a moment. "It's getting harder to be around him, Fi. I mean, I want more from him but I can't have it."

"Look, I'll take care of this job with him. Go on and clear your head, ok?" I didn't answer. "Listen to me, Michael is the one for you. I know it."

"How? Are you like a matchmaker now?"

"No, I'm your sister. And sisters always know."

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After the job was done, I went over to Michael's. My head was clear and I had my thoughts sorted. It was a touch decision but I knew I had to make it. I opened the door to the loft and saw Michael at the counter. He set his yogurt down and sighed.

"Time to talk." He said

"I—I lost you the other day."

"I came back, Dawn."

"You left, Michael. You had a choice to make and you made it. I always thought…maybe, when it came down to it, that—But you didn't."

"What are you saying, Dawn?" I bit my lower lip, choosing my words carefully.

"That I'll always care about you, Michael, and I'll still help you with your thing…and you'll still help me with mine, but we can't be together."

"I know. I said that for a long time."

"Yes, you have." I sighed, knowing my work was done. Though it didn't feel like. I know that I would always love Michael and he would always love me but the puzzle pieces don't fit. And Destiny is wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

"So does this new handler of yours set all her meeting with crossword puzzles, or is she just flirting with you?" I asked Michael as I got out of the Charger, Sam and Fiona behind me.

"People burned me, blacklisted me and threatened my family." Michael said. "I think we're a little past flirting." He tossed me his car keys and I snatched them out of the air and tossed them on the hood. I shifted and hopped onto the hood of the car and sat. "Keep the engine running. If you see her leave—"

"Tail her I know."

"We can't take more proactive measures?" Fiona asked. "There's room in the trunk."

"The idea is to find out who she's working for _without _her knowing, Fiona." Michael said. "It calls for something a little more subtle than throwing her in the trunk. You ready?" Sam nodded and Fiona and Sam left with Michael. I licked my chops tasting the garlic chicken I just had. It was delicious. A few seconds later, a paw whacked me on the side of the head and I fell off the Charger and a black male dog flung himself onto my back. I let myself keep falling until I was rolling sideways, sending the dog right over me. I jumped to my paws and spun around to face the dog. Cyborg flashed on the dog's collar. I waited for him to launch himself at me, then dodged away and flicked my front paw into his face. It was kind of like catching a fish. But with a much easier target. Cyborg screeched and staggered back, bleeding from his nose. Something bit my flank and I turned to see a white female dog biting into me. She bit so hard that I left a clump of fur in her teeth as I wrenched myself free and she slammed my head into the ground knocking me out.

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"Carla's guys were good." I said, rubbing the bruise on my head. "We never saw them coming. The way they covered their approach was impressive." Michael was at the counter fixing Sam's smashed camera. "Sam still pouting?"

"It was Veronica's." Michael said.

"Mmm." He gave up on the camera and looked at a security badge in the light. "What's the security badge for?"

"I don't know. Figure that out, we might be able to answer a few questions. I gotta find a Tunisian counterfeiter." I shifted and hopped onto the table.

"What about Barry? He's a weasel, but he launders money for half of Miami. He could probably put you in touch."

"Yeah. Barry didn't enjoy our last meeting. He's dodging me. Avoiding Sam's calls too. No. Gonna need a fresh face. Someone he won't expect." He looked at me.

"You know how I feel about money launderers. That last one I dealt with, I had Fiona take care of him. They're still finding pieces of him all over Belfast."

"Do it for me?"

"Your charms no longer have any effect on me, Michael."

"Do it for all the yogurt you can eat?"

"I'm lactose intolerant."

"What about all the garlic chicken you can eat?" I liked my chops at that.

"Fine. But I can't promise I won't have Fiona kill him."

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I walked into the loft the next night and saw Michael at the counter and walked to him.

"Sam told me about your latest client." I said. "She sounds like a handful."

"Just helping her with the job." Michael said.

"Where'd all these checks come from?" I asked looking at the checks in front of Michael.

"Barry. Whatever you said to him must have been convincing. These are leftovers from a defunct shell company."

"What are you doing with them?"

"Becoming a forger. Approach the Tunisian with a few phony checks—"

"And you're not just a client—you're a colleague."

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"Mike, that's gonna screw up the whole plan." Sam said, grabbing a beer from the fridge and sitting down. Michael came down and from the second level of the loft. "I thought the idea here was to make Bush seem like a traitor." I laid on my side on the belly next to Fiona who was looking through a gun magazine. "Well, how are you gonna catch him selling secrets behind his boss's back…when he's standing right in front of the guy introducing you?"

"If we can't make a Bush a traitor one way, we're gonna have to do it another way." Michael said. "Fiona, get me a sniper rifle and some C-4."

"Ooh, I like where this is going." Fiona said.

"Dawn, work on your aim with the bow and arrow."

"My aim is perfect, thank you very much." I snapped. Michael walked past Sam and took his beer away from him and throwing it into the trash can.

"I just opened that." Sam whined.

"We have work to do." Michael said.

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I stood on top of the rooftop next to Fiona and looked down at the tiny little ants below. Bush left the building and left to go to the fishing hook. Fiona fired the sniper rifle and I knew that I was up. I nicked two arrows into the bow and fired them at the employees below, hitting them in the legs. Fiona pulled out her phone and detonated the bomb as I took out the last employee.


	3. Chapter 3

I sat at the head of the table, slouching in my chair. Two old ladies were on my left with another old lady on my right. Madeline was in the kitchen making some coffee. I sipped on my beer while the ladies talked.

"Dawn, how's it going?" Michael asked me, coming through the back. I laid my cards down on the table.

"I'm down to the felt." I said coolly, tired. "Full boat Phyllis here didn't tell me she used to deal hold 'em…in Reno." I sipped my beer as Michael smiled and went to talk to his mother. I perked my ears as much as possible to hear what they were saying.

"Your girlfriend's getting creamed." Madeline said. _I'm not his girlfriend! _

"She's _not_ my girlfriend." Michael whispered. I smiled. Great minds think a like.

"Okay, honey, whatever you say."

"Yeah. Thing is…"

"What?"

"Yeah. We're not—Well, we're still working together, but the other part-that's—Well, we've closed the door on that."

"Why do you _always _do this?"

"I didn't do it this time. _She _did." That's it, Michael. That's the way to throw me to Hurricane Madeline there.

"Right."

"Let's play poker!" Michael came into the dining room and sat down beside me as I quickly turned my ears back to the conversation at the table.

"I mean, exactly." Tan said. "How does the boy even find a loan shark in the first place?"

"The yellow pages?" Phyllis suggested.

"Sure. That works." I said.

"Adder's in big trouble with that man." Tan told me. "If he doesn't come up with the money, they're going to hurt him again. It's just awful. Bird's been through so much."

"You know Michael sometimes helps people with problems like this." Beat that, Bitch. Want to throw me to Hurricane Madeline, eh? I'll throw you to Hurricane Bird. Michael glared at me.

"Really?"

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I walked out the back door of the house with Michael behind me.

"Dawn, what was that?" Michael questioned me, closing the door behind him. I walked to my motorcycle and turned to him.

"What was what?" I asked.

"Michael helps people with problems like this sometimes?"

"Well, you do."

"The guy borrowed money from a loan shark. Yeah, a dumb thing to do, but _he _made the deal, he owes the money, and we have no business getting involved in that."

"He borrowed the money to invest in his mom's retirement. Stupid, yes, and sweet. And now she's gonna lose the house."

"What is this about, Dawn? You really care that much about some lady you never met living out in Boca Raton with a bunch of cats?"

"You owe me."

"I gave you the bike."

"You owe me more than that. I want to do this because this guy, Adder, chose to put somebody he loved before himself. That's why." I turned back around and got onto the bike, sliding my helmet down over my face.

"Let's go."

"Are you going to follow me to her house or what?" He grabbed the extra bike helmet I kept in the garage and got on the bike behind me.

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Bird opened the door as we approached the house.

"Hello." Bird greeted us as Michael walked into the house first with me behind him. "Phyllis said you were handsome."

"And single too. Can you believe it?" I said.

"Yeah, let's talk about your problem." Michael said. I went to go sit on the couch. I tried to move a cat out of my way but the cat hissed and swatted its paw at me, flattening its ear against its head. I felt my inner dog growling in my chest. I moved to the other side of the couch, letting Michael deal with the cat. Bird sat in the chair across from us. "I hear your son's having trouble with a loan shark."

"Adder's a good boy." Bird said. "A kind boy. It's just, he's a lot like his father was. He just doesn't…think."

"How much did he borrow, Bird?" I asked.

"Two hundred thousand dollars, and the man said that if he doesn't return the money…Well, he can't return it. He doesn't have it." I saw Michael, no I felt, Michael tense up as the cat climbed into his lap. He looked down at it nervously.

"Uh, he a gambler?" Michael asked.

"No. God, no. He's a cellphone salesman." Michael gingerly picked up the cat and moved it off his lap. "He invested it. It was—It was sweet, really. I mean, the cancer didn't get me, but the medical bills might." The cat looked at me and hissed. I bit back a growl. "So he was just trying to make money so he could take care of me." The door opened and a tall lanky man came in with a black eye. He stopped and looked at me and Michael.

"What's going on here, Ma?" The man asked.

"Look, I have two hundred dollars left in savings. Please, you can have it. You can have all of it. Just, please, make sure he doesn't hurt my boy anymore."

"No! Absolutely not! We talked about this. This is my problem." The cat climbed onto the back of the couch and slicked its way to my end of the couch. I let out a low growl and Michael looked at me. I flicked my eyes to the cat, putting the blame on the cat.

"Well, it's not just your problem now, is it?" Michael said.

"Who are you?"

"We're people who can help." I said, clenching my fists as the cat flicked its paw at my shoulder." Adder sighed and began to walk away but Bird stopped him.

"I don't think there's anything we can do. He says I got to pay him, but I can't."

"Loan sharks are businessmen. We'll strike a deal with him, set up a payment plan. How much money can you still get your hands on?" Michael asked.

"Uh, none of it. I put it in this club, and it's gone."

"All of it?" I questioned him.

"It was a high risk high reward type of deal. A little…illegal. That's why the money had to be all cash."

"Let's start from the beginning." Michael said. The cat whacked my ear and I couldn't hold the anger anymore. I shifted and landed on the floor and growled furiously at the cat who hissed and ran off. I shifted back and straightened out my t shirt.

"Sorry." I said. "Let's go outside, shall we?"

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"A few months ago, I started to go to Ripple, this club on South Beach." Adder explained. Michael leaned against a truck and Adder stood in front of him. I shifted and leapt into a tree behind Adder. I climbed out onto a thick branch and laid down my front left paw dangle down, my head on the bark. "And I got to know the owner, Red."

"Red." Michael tasted the name on his sweet tongue.

"He's a really good guy. He cut me in on the club—partnership. I put up five grand. Dude, I'm telling you, I saw dividends right away. Red would pull these fat wads of cash out of the safe right in the back. I mean like…" Adder laughed.

"Fat wads. Got it."

"Yeah. So anyway, Red comes to me, says he can get me in on this new place he's gonna open—two hundred k. Full partnership. Thing is, the club is…in Cuba," Michael looked up at me. "Hence the cash only thing. Shady, I know, but Red says we're looking at like a thousand percent return on investment."

"So you went it." I said as Michael tried to hide his smile by hanging his head and shaking it in dismay.

"Yeah. I had to get the cash together. My mom's got bills. Anyway, so I go in one day to deliver the cash to Red's house, and I'm telling you, the minute I put the cash on the table, the FBI swarms the place."

"Can I tell the rest of the story just to save time?" Michael asked. "The feds rush in, arrest Red, but not before rushing you out the back."

"Red's under indictment but he's promising not to turn you in." I said.

"The feds take the cash, but..."

"At least you got your freedom." Adder looked at both of us in disbelief.

"How did you—" Adder began to ask.

"Adder, you were conned."

"But the feds."

"They weren't feds, they were actors." Michael explained. "It's a classic kiss off. Red's a con man." Adder sighed.

"I'm such an idiot." You could say that twice.

"Look at the bright side," I said. "The very dim bright side, you might get to keep your kneecaps."

"Do you think—you think Red will give me the money back when he finds out I'm onto him?"

"No." Michael said. "But there are other ways to get your money back."

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I leaned across the bar of the club next to Michael and looked at all the girls who were dancing on stands, men crowding around them like a swarm of bees.

"Ooh. Look at her." I said. "And her. I bet she'd be fun."

"Are you shopping for me or for _you?" _Michael asked.

"You are gonna have to get back out there sooner or later."

"No, what I have to do is get back there." I looked across the club to see black curtains covering a doorway and two big bouncers blocking it. "Adder said Red's office is just past the VIP room. Good bet he keeps his cash there. Probably launders the money through the club." I turned to the bartender getting bored of the conversation.

"White Russian. Don't go easy on the vodka."

"Dawn, the cash, the safe." I turned back to him.

"I don't understand why you refuse to mix business with pleasure."

"Can we focus? Our ticket to the back room just showed up."

"You're no fun, Michael. Now, Red, on the other hand, looks like he knows how to have a good time." I looked over to see a man surrounded by girls." Breaking into the safe shouldn't be too hard. Be just like Dublin. Getting invited into the back…shouldn't be too difficult, either. Why don't you go meet your Pakistani spy and I'll take care of this?" I took off my collar and handed it to Michael and I began to merge in with the crowd.

"Just don't—just…just—just don't work too hard!"

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Red laid on the bed in front of me, margarita in hand.

"Now it's just us." He smirked. God, I really want to shoot myself right now. I smiled back and brushed myself up against his hand, making the margarita spill all over me. Well, it was better than pulling a gun and shooting myself. I gasped and jumped up.

"Oh, bloody hell!" I said in a British accent.

"I'm sorry." I sighed.

"Where's your loo?" I think that's the right word. Who the hell wants to say loo instead bathroom. Jesus.

"Uh, o-out the front and around the bar." I scoffed.

"You want me to go out there looking like this?"

"No. No, of course not. Use mine." I scoffed again and walked down the back hallway. I looked over my shoulder before pulling the hairpin from my hair to pick the lock. I looked at the door and groaned. The lock was a magnetic card reader. Great.

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"Red is one careful con man." I said, sitting on the bar stool next to Michael and Fiona. Sam was in a chair, chugging a beer. "He's security conscious. He's smart. He's smooth, too."

"Smooth as in a cheesy Sam kind of way?" Fiona asked.

"Hey, smooth is smooth baby." Sam protested.

"The club is locked down tight." I said. "We want to get to the safe, we need Red's key card, and he keeps it on him all the time."

"Can't you lift it, sticky fingers?"

"Uh, duh. But I already made my play. He'll get suspicious if I duck and come back again. Besides, some people, not going to say any names, Michael and Fiona, say that I'm done stealing."

"So it looks like a two man job now." Michael said, ignoring my comment.

"Yeah, the trouble is, Red only lets girls and marks past security."

"Yeah, so one of us has to play the fool." Sam said. Fiona and I both looked at Sam.

"I know who I'd vote for." Fiona said.

"Yeah, me too." I agreed. I finished my beer and set the glass on the counter. I got up and headed out to the loft door. "See you tonight, Michael. You're perfect for it."

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I sat next to Red at the bar. Michael was at the other end of the bar with a bunch of girls around him. He's lucky he still has my collar. Michael leaned back out of the crowd of girls and raised a glass of whiskey to me before getting back into the conversation with the girls.

"Who's your friend?" Red asked.

"You don't know Gray?" I questioned him, in the same British accent as before. "He's wild. He's some oil baron's kid."

"Oh, yeah? You want to introduce me?" I got up and went to the other end of the bar with Red behind me.

"There she is!" Michael said in a southern accent when I approached him. "Damn!" He hugged me and lifted me off the ground a couple inches before letting go of me and stepping back.

"Gray, Red." I said. "Red, Gray."

"Friend, you're ruining my ratio. I have a good ratio going on. I got four ladies to one Gray. Four to one—I like that."

"Oh, I-I can fix that." Red said. "Ladies." A couple more girls joined the crowd.

"Now you're talking. I'm Gray Stripe."

"My name's Red." They both shook hands. "Is that a Texas drawl I hear?"

"Born and raised."

"Ah." Red's phone rang and he answered it. "Oh. Pardon me. Golden Fern?" Red laughed. "It's been a long t—" Michael leaned over and snatched the phone from Red.

"Golden Fern, he's gonna have to call you back. He's gonna mind his manners." Michael snapped the phone shut and dropped it into his drink.

"That _was _rude. My apologies. How about a bottle of dom?"

"What is this—breakfast?"

"Whiskey, then."

"Whoo!"

"Why don't we take this party back to a private location?"

"Round it up, ladies!"

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Michael and Red were in the far corner talking to each other. The group of girls were dancing. Kind of creep me out, you know? I moved to the corner where Red and Michael were and I brushed myself up against Red, still wanting to kill myself.

"Why don't you boys stop playing with each other…" I began, leaning down to peck a kiss on Red's lips. His lips were so dry, so disgusting, I felt my stomach turning, threatening to vomit. "And play with _me _instead?" I slipped my hand into his jacket and gingerly pulled out the key card. I reached behind me and handed it to Michael.

"This whiskey is running right through me!" Michael exclaimed. "Where's the head?"

"Uh, that way." Red said. I straightened up and brushed against Michael as he passed me. Red got up and went back out to the club. I quickly snatched up Michael's leftover whiskey and chugged it, wanting anything to drown out this foul taste in my mouth. I shook my head and went to the opening to the club and looked out to see Red talking to two professional looking men. I pulled out my phone and dialed Michael.

"Yeah, Dawn?"

"Michael, you got a problem." I said. "It looks like Red's got partners. I think you need to hurry it up." The three men started to make their way to the back. "Michael, it's really time to go. Your cover's about to be blown."

"Almost done." I hung up and stood in front of me while the other two men went back to Red's office. Michael came back out and stood behind me, handing me the key card. I slipped it back into Red's coat.

"Oh, hey. Hey. You want to talk some business?" Red asked.

"Maybe a little later! I think it's time for me and this little lady..." Michael turned me around, picked me up and flung me over his right shoulder. This boy has a death wish, I swear it. "…to get to know each other a little better. You don't mind, do you, partner?" Michael carried me outside and set me down next to his car. I punched him in his chest then landed another in his stomach. He groaned and doubled over.

"You ever pick me up like that again, I am going to use my legs instead of my fists. You know, I don't like to be touched or be picked up. Now, give me my damn collar."

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Madeline opened the door for and I walked in and handed her a case of beer.

"For the hostess." I said as she closed the door. "I figured I'm gonna need to get your girls half in the bag if I'm gonna hold my own at poker today." Madeline laughed.

"Um, yeah." Madeline stuttered. "Well, about that…" I looked at the empty table.

"Am I early?"

"No. No. No. I asked if they'd come an hour later. Um…I wanted to talk to you alone. Please." I walked over and sat down at the table and Madeline sat next to me.

"Well, what's on your mind?"

"This breakup. The two of you are making a _huge _mistake." I fought back an irritated sigh. "If you don't mind my saying."

"Madeline—"

"No, please. Listen. I need you to know you are the best thing that ever happened to Michael. He's different when you're around. He's better. He's almost happy." She chuckled and took a puff out of her cigarette.

"Thank you for saying that. It's more than he ever said himself."

"I know. His father was the same way. But I see the way he looks at you, Dawnna."

"I'll always…" What was the right word? Could I say love? Will I always love Michael? Or will that time come where I won't notice him anymore? "I will always care about your son, Madeline. You know, I-I just can't be the second…"

"Most important thing in his life. I can't blame you for that, honey." Madeline handed me a beer and I took it and chugged it.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEE

"I only need the money for one day." Red said over the recorder.

"No." Dew said. "No way."

"This is stupid. I got a whale here. Don't you see that?"

"You need to watch yourself, Red. You're just the face. You don't like how we do it, you can go back to tending the bar. If you can get him out to the house so we can give him the brush off, fine. Otherwise, cut him loose." Michael stopped the recorder.

"Sounds like Red's partners have some veto power." I said.

"So, he can't put up any money." Adder said. "We need to deal with Berry." Adder checked his watch while Michael pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I've got five hours."

"I'm gonna get us some more time." Michael said.

"Hello." A European accent sounded on the other line. "How are we this evening?"

"Oh, we're good. We're gonna get you the money. We just need a little more time."

"That is acceptable. I can wait. But there is someone here who does not share my patience. Tell Adder his mother is very disappointed with him." Michael turned his back on Adder.

"Listen to me very carefully. You do not want to hurt that woman."

"You're right. I don't. But she's gonna stay right here with me till I have every penny."

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"Adder, listen to me. Berry's not going to hurt your mom." Michael said.

"Are you sure?" Adder exclaimed. "How can you be sure?"

"He's just trying to prove a point."

"That he can get to us at any time."

"That he really wants his money."

"Well, I really want to give it to him but I can't."

"Adder, you have to trust us."

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Sam escorted the two fake feds out of the car and made them scram. He then pulled out a gun from the car and fired it at the trunk of Red's car. He probably fired a clip when I started to get bored.

"Sam, I'm not seeing any flames." I said.

"Give me a break, lady." Sam said, snapping in another clip. He shot half the clip and stopped.

"Any day now, Sam." He finished off the clip. "Damn it, Sam. I got to do everything myself, don't I?" I jogged up to the car and touched the trunk. Electricity crackled and warmed the metal. "Fire in the hole."

"Dawn, if I shoot then that's going to cause a big explosion."

"Isn't that what we want?"

"Dawn,"

"Come on, Sam. Hurry it up. I can't do this forever you know." Sam fired and I ran away just before the car went BOOM!. "Ha! Vroom, vroom go boom, boom!"


	4. Chapter 4

I walked up to Michael who was sitting on a bench riding Carla's file and handed him some frozen yogurt as I sat down next to him.

"Anything good?" I asked.

"Hard to tell when you only get every third word." Michael sighed.

"Well, are you surprised? These are the people who burned you, Michael. You're lucky to get any information about their operatives."

"Looks like Carla's cover in Kurdistan was an irrigation consultant."

"Hmm. Maybe she can set something up water Fiona's ferns…when she's not threatening your family or forcing you to run black ops."

"I'll be sure to ask her."

"Cheer up." I nudged him with my shoulder. "It's a start, isn't it?"

"Yeah. And there's a decent chance…she's using a similar cover here in Miami."

"Why don't you put that away?" I reached over and closed the file on his lap. "Give it a couple of hours. You, um—" I put on my sunglasses and turned to him. "You might see something you missed." Michael began to look around. "Like a tail." I grabbed his beautiful face and turned it so he was looking into my sunglasses. "Lincoln Town Car, up the street. I saw them before we left…my place. Do you think it's them?"

"Could be."

"It's gonna be a _very _interesting conversation if they catch you with that file. Can I watch?"

"You drive."

"You know I don't like your car."

"It's not that bad."

"I hate muscle cars. They have the speed but they don't have the control."

"Just drive, Dawnna." He shoved the files into my arms and got up to go to his car. I growled and followed. I got into the driver's seat. "Slow down at those carts over there."

"Then what? I not going to drive to piece of crap all over Miami."

"Don't hate the car, Dawn. Just drop it off at my mom's place. I'll get it there."

"You expect me to walk home?"

"Fine, drop it off at the corner, get out, walk the block to your bike, get on your bike and go home."

"Fine."

"Fine." I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. As I past the carts, Michael bailed out and I continued to drive to the corner.

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I pulled up behind Michael's car and turned off the engine and put the kick stand down.

"Who's she?" I heard the girl ask in a thick Russian accent.

"Someone I work with." Michael answered. "She's gonna tail Gorse. Hopefully, he'll lead us to where your sister is."

"He's there. That's his van." I looked past the car to see a man with amber eyes. "That's his dog too, Goose." I saw a plump speckled gray male dog. He had clumped untidy thick fur, frazzled whiskers, ragged ears, shaggy paws, yellow teeth and pale blue eyes.

"Wow." Nate said, who by the way was the person who was tailing me and Michael earlier. Did a suckish job at it. "Guy's got some interesting tattoos."

"Russian prison ink." Michael said. "Each one means something."

"Really? What's the spade for?"

"It means he's a thief."

"Maybe if he wasn't stealing girls for money, I would have liked him." I said, loud enough for Michael to hear.

"Tiger means enforcer."

"Yeah?" Nate said. "Huh. What about the skulls? What are those for?" Uh-oh. Even I know what those means and my Russian knowledge is way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, rusty. "Mike, what do the skulls mean?"

"It means murderer, Nate."

"Murderer?" The girl exclaimed. "He has my sister. Why we just sit here?"

"I won't let anything happen. I promise." I saw Gorse get into the van and drive away and the mission was on.

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I laid on the bed next to Michael as he and Fiona went through the pictures and information on Gorse. Sam stumbled over his feet and hangover to the fridge.

"Six hundred dollars?" Michael exclaimed, looking at the receipt Sam gave him.

"What can I say, Mike?" Sam said. "The guy ate like it was his last meal. And the liquor—I mean, I had gunshot wounds hurt less than this hangover. You got, like, a bag of frozen peas or something cold for my head?"

"Did you get the list?" Sam hung his head in shame.

"Six hundred bucks and no names?" Fiona questioned him.

"Look, he's just trying to drag it out, ok?" Sam said as he grabbed a yogurt and held it to his head. He came to the bed and laid down. I snapped at his leg when he touched me. "Snappish. Don't worry about it. I'm getting close."

"Well, do you think he knows Carla?"

"As far as I can tell, he knows everyone who's set foot on a farm in the northern hemisphere. How'd that thing with Gorse go?"

"No as well as I was hoping."

"I followed him all day." I said. "It's pretty clear he just collects the money. Stays away from the girls until it's over. It's smart security. If he has no contact with his guys, no calls, no conversations, then the cops can't make a decent case and we can't find the girls."

"If we're gonna find the girls by Friday, we'll need to extract more information. How bout it, Sam?" Sam sat up in interest.

"Interrogation?" Sam asked. "Well, it's—It's been a while, Mikey, but, you know, it's just like riding a bike."

"If we can snatch him by this afternoon, we'll have three days to work on him."

"Oh, that's cutting it close. Maybe, if we hit the ground running, make him think he's up against the big boys—you know, the government types."

"We don't have a deep bench here." Sam and Fiona exchanged a look and then looked a me.

"I don't know. I think we can do it. Dawn grabs the guy. She's the extraction team. You, Fi and me tag team the guy on questions, we do the sunglasses, the suit, the whole bit, make him think he's up against every agency with initials."

"You think you can bag them alone, Dawn?" I bared my teeth at him and he looked away in surrender. Sam laughed then groaned, laying back down.

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I lengthened my stride and crashed into Goose, stretching out my front paws to run my claws down his flank. He shrieked and whirled to face me. Furious blue eyes stared into mine, and he lunged toward me teeth bared. I knocked him away with a thrust of my head, then sank my claws into his ear and felt the thin flesh tear satisfyingly. Goose fell sideways, leaving his pale gray belly open to the sky. One slice with my claws and…No. I had to stick with the plan. I slammed my paw down onto his head, knocking him out.

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I walked out of the store to my motorcycle and opened up the seat to put my bags in.

"I like your taste." I turned around to see Gorse holding out a pair of underwear to me.

"Oh! Thank you." I gingerly took them from him and put them in a bag.

"I'm Gorse." Electricity crackled on my fingertips and I turned around to zap Gorse. Gorse knocked my hand away and wrapped his arms around me, tearing off my collar and tossing it. I bit him and he let go of me. I kicked him in the kneecap and made a leap for the collar. I fell short when Gorse grabbed my leg and pulled me back. _Wait a minute! _When I couldn't reach my collar, I remembered the stun gun in my back pocket. I quickly took it out, got on one knee and turned to Gorse who was gripping my knee. "You brought a toy. You want to play."

"Oh, I love to play." I jammed the stun gun into Gorse's shoulder and the electricity flowed from his arms into my leg. My body went into convulsions as I tried to contain the pain, screaming through clench teeth. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I blacked out.

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The metal gate squeaked as I came into the small area below Michael's loft. He was standing in front of Gorse's van, going through Gorse's stuff.

"How's out friend Gorse behaving?" Michael asked.

"Like an altar boy." I said. "He even asked me to shock him again."

"He asked you, with a gag in his mouth?"

"Oh, he has expressive eyes."

"Feeling better, Dawnna?" Fiona asked me, coming down the steps with Sam behind her.

"Everyone could use a few thousand volts from time to time. It clears the mind."

"All righty." Sam said. "I got a pal in organized crime, ran down everything he had on this Gorse character. Whoo, he's a hard rock from the motherland."

"What brings him to these fair shores?" Fiona asked.

"They got him linked to what they think is a Russian syndicate active on the East Coast, pretty much from here to New York. The guy who handles the day to day operation's in Miami. Guy named Dark. But this guy Gorse, he's seen the inside of every prison from Moscow to Minsk, so I think the best approach here is we know everything, we're rolling up his whole gang, and he's just a little fish."

"Well, you're the expert, Sam. What else?" Michael asked.

"Oh, good news. I found the perfect place for our secret facility. It's an old concrete plant in the middle of nowhere. They condemned it after the last hurricane. This is gonna be fun, Mike. Oh, here, Dawn, I picked your collar up after you blacked out from your stunt." He tossed me my collar and I strapped it on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O

I slammed the two by four against the jacket on the punching bag, trying to dirty it up for Michael.

"So, wait a minute. You go in the cell with Gorse, and you make friends with the guy?" Nate asked.

"Dawn will be in there too. She'll stay in dog form since Gorse already knows her human form." Michael said.

"That's your plan?"

"If he knows what we want, he can lie, hold out until the girls are gone. We need him to think that we're on his side, that we're safe to talk to." Michael handed Nate a nice suit. "Nate, these are for you. Do what Sam tells you to do, all right?"

"Hey, I can handle it. You just take care of you. All right, Bro?"Michael took the coat off the hanger as he leaned against the counter and faced me as I stood in front of him. I raised my right fist, ready to punch when he stopped me.

"The ring, Dawn."

"What? Why? It would do more damage." I said.

"The ring, Dawn."

"Fine." I took off my ring with a sigh and set it on the counter. I gathered up my strength and slammed my fist into Michael's left cheek. He grunted as he faced me again, a cut bleeding over his eye. "Yeah. Yeah." He nodded, letting me know to hit him again. I hit him again and cut his lip. "Ow!" He groaned as Nate stepped up and punched his older brother, causing Michael's nose to bleed. "Nate!"

"What? Just trying to be a team player." Nate said.

"Your turn, Dawn."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I mumbled. I shifted and Michael leaned down to take off my collar. From the point on, I was just a regular dog. He stood back up.

"Ready?" I shook my head and whined. Michael kicked me in the ribs and I let out a yelp as I heard them crack.

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"Today is your lucky day, Gorse." Nate said. "Got one of your boys in there to keep you company. He even brought your dog a playmate. You two play nice now." Gorse went to one side of the storage container with Goose and I stayed in the corner beside Michael. My ears were low and my tail was between my legs.

"You have the face of a traitor." Michael said.

"What?" Gorse questioned him. "Who are you?"

"You talked." Goose barked at me and I stood up and bared my teeth at him, putting most of my weight on my right side since my left ribs were broken.

"You don't know me."

"I kept quiet. My dog kept quiet. You, your mutt—not a scratch."

_You master better be careful of what he says. _Goose sent the message to me.

_You better sit your ass down before I make you sit down. _I said. He snapped his teeth out me and I let out a menacing growl. Michael started to speak Russian to Gorse and Gorse yelled back in Russian. Michael took off his jacket and started walking to Gorse. Goose growled and stepped in front of Gorse. I did the same thing. My ribs screamed with pain as my growl vibrated them. In three bounds, I reached the dog and crouched down on his haunches. I pressed down with my hind paws and sprang onto the dog, landing with my paws on either side of his spine. I thrust with my claws through the dense, bristly fur and kept my weight low as Goose reared up, twisting as he tried to bite me. I wasn't here to just hang on; I needed to injure him enough to get him back in his corner. Sinking in deeper with my hind claws, I released one front paw and slashed at Goose's face as he turned toward me. My foot shot through the air and I nearly lost my balance. Clinging on, I tried again, this time felt a satisfying wrench in my front legs as I made contact with the dog's cheek and ripped a long wound from the corner of his eye to his jaw. Goose bellowed in pain. I clung on to Goose as he plunged and snapped. I sliced again and again with my claws, scoring deep wounds through the dog's pelt until my claws were tufted with gray fur. Goose started to sink to his knees and I braced myself, ready to jump free when he tried to roll over and crush me. The dog's muzzle thudded on to the ground and he let out a long groan as he slumped on to his belly. I stayed crouched on his back, wondering if this was a new trick.

"Get off!" Michael yelled at me in Russian. Dazed, I sprang down to the ground and stared at my enemy. His eyes were half closed and his breath came in quick, shallow gasps. Did I kill him? "Come." I turned back to Michael and sat at his side as Goose struggled to his feet.

"Who are you?" Gorse asked. Michael sniffled, wiping blood from his nose. Michael sat down and Gorse sat down on the other side. I laid down and tumbled onto my right side.

"Sergei Yoblanovich. This is my dog. Lily. We work up in Tampa." Gorse said something in Russian. Michael answered back in Russian. "Raised in America. You're Gorse Wing. Hey, you run the girls, right?" Gorse stood up as Michael spat blood onto the ground. "Who do you think gets your shipments through Customs? They shut down the operation in Tampa. It's done. They're moving down here. They're closing in. How did they find you?"

"I was ambushed by a little _suka." _My blue eyes gleamed with pride as Michael ran his hand through my glossy black fur. "She was a shifter."

"They said they know about Dark's headquarters. Did you tell them?"

_We told them nothing! _Goose barked at me.

_Lies! _I howled.

"I said I told them nothing." Gorse said.

"Then how do they know these things?"

_You want to know what's a lie? _Goose asked me.

_What?_

"They know where your deliveries are! They know what kind of vodka Dark drinks."

_You. You're the mutt who ambushed me._

_Ok, first off. I'm not a mutt. I'm a full bred wolf. Get it right. Second off, there's tons of black dogs in Miami. It's gonna be hard to prove that to Gorse now is it._

_I'll never forget the suka smell. _

_Course you won't. _Goose raised his head in thought.

_You're the girl who ambushed Gorse in the parking lot. _

_Maybe. Maybe not. _

_You are!_

_Now see, the girl who attacked Gorse was a shifter. See me, no collar. _

_You took it off. _

_How? Dogs don't have disposable thumbs you know. _Goose climbed to his a barked and growled and bared his teeth at Michael. I stood up and stood in front of Michael, my head low, my teeth bared. _I wouldn't do that if I were you. _

"Goose, that's enough." Gorse said.

"Down, Lily." Michael said. I reluctantly laid down after Goose backed down.

"Maybe they are watching. Maybe they have someone in the deli or the café. I don't know." Gorse spoke something in Russian.

"Yeah, make sure you stay that way."

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"What was the ruckus about between you and Goose?" Michael asked me after a couple hours Gorse and Goose was gone. He pulled out my collar and strapped it on.

"He knows I was the one that attacked them." I said.

"Dawn, that's bad."

"Yeah, you're telling me. But he doesn't have a way of telling Gorse. So I think we're clear. Besides, he doesn't know we're working for the government. Right now he just thinks we're just not who we say we are." The container door unlocked and Gorse and Goose got thrown back in. Michael quickly took off my collar and put it back into his pocket.

"They have you for hours and they still don't touch you?"

"They asked me questions then left me in a room with a bag over my head." Gorse said.

"I guess you're just lucky."

"Do you want to say something? Say it!"

"Everyday they have new information!"

"I know. The American, he says they moving on Romanov's."

"Someone in your organization is talking. They gave us up. If they know where the girls are—"

"Impossible. No one knows where the safe house is but me."

"Gorse, in the Americans link Dark to the girls—"

"Do you think I'm stupid? My men have orders. If anyone but me comes to the safe house, they kill the girls and leave. If they don't hear from me by Friday, same thing. Dark has nothing to worry about from me." Michael spoke in Russian. "The American can ask whatever he wants. By the time they do anything, the girls are dead."

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I was on my right side across from Goose and Gorse was sitting down. Michael was pacing the floor.

"What?" Gorse asked. "What is wrong with? You can't stand still."

"You heard them." Michael said. "This is almost over. And when they're done with us, they're gonna throw us in some CIA hellhole…for the rest of our lives. If by some miracle they let us go, we're gonna be dead anyway."

"Dead? What are you talking about?"

"What will Dark think? He will hold us responsible."

"We will speak for each other. I will tell him you were strong. You kept your mouth shut."

"Before he cuts your throat or after? No, no, no. We need to get out of here." Michael kneeled in front of Gorse. "Listen, if we can get to the girls, maybe grab 'em, move 'em, show Dark that—that we fought."

"Escape? You are dreaming."

"Can I trust you?" Michael spoke in Russian.

"Yes."

"They showed me a file with surveillance photos—Dark. I swore I didn't know him. They beat me, but I got this." Michael held up a paperclip. I can open the handcuffs. We can overpower the guard. Maybe we'd get out, maybe we'd die. But if we don't get out, we'd die anyway. Are you with me?"

"Then what? We don't even know what's on the other side of that door."

"Oh, I heard 'em talking. It's not a real jail. It's temporary. They're gonna move us to a real prison." I heard a car approach and I scrambled to my paws along with Goose. "You have to decide now—Now!" Gorse nodded. "They'll handcuff you to the wall. You keep 'em busy. You distract 'em. I'll take care of the lock. You under—"

"Gorse!" Nate's voice sounded outside.

"Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." Gorse said and he got up to get his hands handcuffed.

"Goose!" Goose went to get a leash put on him and tied to the wall. "Lily to the back." I approached the back as the door opened and Nate handcuffed Michael and put a bag over his head. He cocked a gun and pointed it at Michael's head. "All right. Let's go. Feel a little more talkative now?"

"You really think you can do this to us?"

"Shut up."

We have people everywhere. Doesn't matter who you are—CIA, FBI—We can find you and kill you just the same."

"Hey, you ever want to see the light of day again, you'd shut your face. Let's go." Michael unlocked the handcuffs and pulled the bag of his head, knocking the gun from Nate's hands. Nate punched Michael and Michael slammed Nate up against the wall and Nate dropped to the ground. Nate got back up and Michael threw him out the container. Michael picked up the gun and Nate got up and ran. Michael followed him outside and I charged out after him. Michael fired the gun and Nate shouted. Michael shot another bullet. I tackled Sam to the ground and stood over him while Michael went to free Goose and Gorse. They came out and followed Michael to the car. I raced to the car and jumped into the back.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEE

"This is it?" Michael asked, getting out of the car and approaching the house.

"Yes." Michael and Gorse went inside and came back out with a group of girls. Men with guns ushered the girls into the van and close the doors. Gorse and Goose got into a car and drove away to go to Dark.

"There's been a change of plans." Michael turned around took out two of the guys while Sam and Fiona came around the corner with guns. The men dropped the guns and Michael went to go open the doors of the van for the girls.

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I sighed as I slouched in the passenger seat of the charger, staring at a mail box.

"Thirteen hundred and fifty dollars and all Sam got on Carla was P.O. box."

"More than I had, Dawn." Michael said. "Besides, I don't think he could have survived any more intelligence gathering."

"Well, Sam's liver can take a vacation while we—What do we do now?"

"Now we watch. Someone's gotta pick up the mail sometime." I sighed again.

"I hate surveillance." I sat back up only to double back over because of the pain from my ribs. I lifted up my shirt to examine the bruises on my left side.

"Dawn, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It just hurts—" I gingerly touched a bruise and pulled back in pain. "—a little."

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"No, it's fine. I'm fine." I dropped my shirt and leaned my head out the window to feel the hot summer Miami sun.

"Damn it, I can't do it anymore." I turned to look at him.

"Do what?" Michael leaned over, snatched my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. The angle that my body was in, I should have been screaming in pain. But the kiss, his soft, lustful lips, took every ounce of pain away. He broke off for a second.

"Michael,"

"Just shut up and kiss me." I didn't have to be told twice. I plunged my tongue into his mouth, his tongue dancing in mine. I felt warm and happy. I felt my clit throbbing, wanting more from him. I dug my fingers into his hair and pulled him as close as possible to me. My phone rang and he broke off the kiss. I kept face an inch from his while I answered my phone.

"Hello?"

"Dawnna, it's Black. Um, a couple of shifters stole my grandfather's Rolex. And, um, well, you, uh, you told me to, uh, to call you if I, uh, if I—"

"I'm on my way." I hung up and got out of the car without a word.


	5. Chapter 5

"You've really never heard of Moth?" I asked Michael as I sipped my hot chocolate. I could be in the Sahara Desert, sweating my ass off and I could still have hot chocolate. The best thing in the world.

"Haven't had a lot of time for musical exploration, Dawn." Michael said.

"He has a clothing line too. Lingerie, one that sells nice collars. How much you paying me for this again?"

"Bought you the hot chocolate."

"Mm-hmm." I looked over across the street to the Moth building. Two big bouncers came out with another man behind him, dressing like he had all of Bill Gates money. Another short man was behind him. He was well muscled, bulky and very pale for someone who lived in Miami, Florida. "That's Bumble. Not a bad way to travel, huh?"

"We have to figure out how we can get in, check out his security. Ricky said—" His phone rang and he answered. "Yeah."

"Beech Beach—Fifteen minutes." The man on the phone said and hung up. Michael snapped his phone shut and put it back into his pocket.

"Your new friend?" I asked. "Chatty, isn't he?"

"I'm gonna have to take care of this." Michael said. "Can you—"

"Run along."

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"Ricky's getting us the security code, so that should take care of the doors." I said, coming from the second level of the loft. I walked over to Michael and handed him a file and he skimmed through it. "There are cameras all around the building though."

"What kind of cameras?" Michael asked.

"Wireless. Nothing too hard to handle." I leaned against the workbench. "Of course, the tactical support I'm giving you will cost you." Michael looked at me. "I need a new collar."

"You already got three."

"Now that I'm on the open market, I need another one." I left.

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I pulled up across the street from Moth and turned off the engine and put the kick stand down. Michael and I took off our helmets.

"We should go in there." I said. "One or two bullets in the right place—"

"I think storming the building is probably not good for Kestrel, Dawn. The meeting's starting." Michael pulled out his phone and I leaned on my handlebars listening to the conversation.

"Loyalty." A man said. "Respect. Standing tall." That must be Moth. "These are the bricks I uses to build this label from the street up. Without 'em, these platinum records got no place on my wall." The group murmured. "Y'all a jumpy bunch today. Anybody in here got a reason to be jumpy? Last chance to come clean, people." I got off the bike, hanging my helmet off the handle bars. "No? I'm disappointed." I snapped my fingers at Michael and he got up too. "Though I can't say I'm surprised." I opened the seat of the bike and pulled out my bow and arrow. Michael held up a finger to tell me to wait. "Tiger."

"Hmm?" Tiger addressed Moth.

"You recognized this." Tiger chuckled. "Aftershock's debut album—double platinum. Whose logo is that on this record?"

"Yours."

"Mines. And whose signature is on your paychecks?"

"Yours, Moth."

"That's right. So explain to me why you told Static Records…you could deliver Aftershock if they brought you into the fold."

"Static Records? Man, I don't even—" Tiger stammered.

"Oh."

"What—"

"Bumble saw you kicking it at they offices. You take my artists, you take the cash out of my pocket. Bumble, what do I do to thieves?"

"What you have to, Moth." Bumble said.

"What I have to. Kes. What you think?"

"I think you're in a conference room full of witnesses, M." Kestrel said. Moth laughed.

"My man, always appealing to my better half. You know what, Tiger? Get your ass outta here. You forgetting something, homey? You wanted my record, right? Take it!" Glass shattered and everyone exclaimed. I nicked an arrow into my bow.

"Hold on." Michael told me.

"Damn, Moth." A man said.

"Somebody come clean this up. Everybody out." Moth shouted. "Now! Let's go!" I grabbed my quiver and swung it over my back. "Expect you, Kes." I shrugged my shoulders so the quiver could settle easily between my shoulders.

"Wait." Michael said. I closed the seat of the bike and began to walk across the street to Moth. "Damn it. Dawn." Michael started to chase after me. "Wait." Michael ran in front of me and grabbed my left arm to stop me. I looked him in the eye and let out a low growl. "Stand down."

"Tell me you heard that." Kestrel said over the phone.

"Yeah, we heard that. Sounded like Bumble was letting Moth know who he can trust." Michael turned me around and I reluctantly followed him back to the bike.

"So when Moth finds that money gone, there's no question it's me that gets capped."

"I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm meeting Bumble tonight."

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"The good news is Bumble believes he's being investigated by the F.B.I. …and wants to move the money." Michael said the next day. Michael, me and Kestrel were at Michael's loft.

"The bad news is he's not gonna do it with you still alive, Kestrel." I said.

"So the only way to clear my name is to die a violent death?" Kestrel asked. "Great."

"Bumble has a Kestrel problem." Michael said. "We'll help him solve it. Can you find out when Moth's leaving the office today?"

"Yeah." Michael pulled out his phone and called Sam.

"Sam, I need a favor. Can you stash my mom someplace safe for a couple of hours?"

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I walked down the sidewalk towards Moth and his two bodyguards. As I passed Moth, he cooed at me.

"Merci beaucoup." He crooned. "Sugar blooms." I kept walking and stopped to lean up against a pole. Sam got out of a car and began yelling at Moth. Moth's bodyguards took Sam by the arms and began to drag him back to his car and I saw my window. I pulled Fiona's gun from my pants and walked up behind Moth and pointed the gun to his head.

"Bonjour." I said as Sam took out the bodyguards with ease. "Wanna take a ride, Sugar Bloomers?"

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We sat in the dining room of Kestrel's house and listened and Bumble dragged Kestrel into the living room.

"All right, you don't have to do this?" Kestrel said. "There's still time. We can make this right. No one needs to know." Bumble laughed.

"Yeah, I almost wish they did know." Bumble said. "You couldn't have pulled off that scam in a million years. That was beautiful. That was mine."

"I never did anything to you. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Oh, man. This is your fault, Kestrel. Why'd you have to push it? Why'd you have to go to the feds?"

"Because it's not your money."

"The hell it isn't! I built that company. Me! Moth was rapping for pocket change when I met him. I sold his CDs out of a van."

"He trusted you. He loved you."

"Loved me? He made half a billion dollars. Me? I'm a financial adviser with a weekly paycheck. Yeah. Oh, here, Bumble, take this car. Bumble, you know what, have this watch. Table scraps. You know, between me and you, Kestrel—I don't even like the music anymore. I can't stand it anymore." I heard the gun cock. "I gotta say, it feels good to do this myself. I should have stepped up like this a long time ago." The gun fired. "What the hell?" Two more shots fired. Moth walked into the living room and Sam and I followed him. Kestrel climbed to his feet while Bumble stared at Moth wide eyed. "Oh, no, no. Oh, no, no, no. Please."

"Everybody out. " Moth said.

"Moth."

"Expect for you, Bumble."

"No. Wait, wait." We all left so Moth could do what he had to do to thieves.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO

"So your boy, Bumble, took a ride with Moth on his yacht. Didn't come back." Kestrel said when we arrived at Michael's loft. "And I believe I owe you guys a little more than thank you." Kestrel handed Michael a package full of cash.

"Oh, no." Michael said. "That's not necessary." I looked around Kestrel at Michael. "On the other hand, Dawn needs a new collar. Cover our expenses, we'll call it even." Kestrel handed me some money and I took it.

"I'm not gonna forget this, Michael. You ever need anything—"

"Just say hello to your brother for me."

"That's a deal." And Kestrel left.

"The, um, incendiary rounds you asked from Fiona." I said, handing Michael a box. "Sounds like you're planning a party. You sure you don't need a dare?"

"Victor's an invite only type. He's willing to make a few corpses just to get his hands on that box." Michael explained. "I need to be able to take a look inside…without him turning this thing into a bloodbath." And Michael left too.

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The next day, I go back to Michael's loft with an x ray Michael had given me. I walked in to see Michael lifting weights, his muscles straining against his flawless skin.

"Did you bring the thing?" Michael asked, setting the weights down and standing up.

"My doctor from the veterinary clinic…said she'd never seen a species quite like this one." I handed the case to Michael and he opened it up and flattened the film against the window and stepped back to look at it. "Sniper rifle." I recognized the outline of it from a picture in Fiona's bedroom. "It's an awful lot of trouble to go through for a gun. Must be for quite the occasion."

"And they sure don't want me to know what it is."


	6. Chapter 6

I leaned against my motorcycle as Michael stood on the other side of it.

"Fiona's arms dealer friend just couldn't meet us at the Café Carlito?" Michael asked.

"He wanted to meet here." I said. "Fiona bough an assault rifle from him last year. He doesn't know you. Seymour has trust issues."

"I don't wanna date him, Dawn. I just wanna find out what the people who burned me are doing with a Russian sniper rifle."

"And Seymour's the perfect guy to track it down. He's just a little eccentric." I phone beeped and I pulled it out of my pocket to check the message. "Oh."

_Want to go to a movie? _

_I would love to. _

"Is that Seymour?"

"Hmm?"

"That—That Seymour?"

"Oh, no. This guy I met. He just asked me out." A yellow Corvette pulled up in front of my bike. Seymour and his bodyguard, Jackass, got out.

"Dawnna, baby." He greeted me. "Good to see you. Michael, right? Hey, man. Heard a lot about you. Come on. We're going for a walk. Dawnna, keep Jackass company. He'll like you. He's attracted to shiny things." Michael and Seymour walked down the sand hill and behind the trees to the boat. Jackass took a step towards me and I held up my hand and let fire ignite onto my fingertips. Jackass took that step back. A few minutes later, gunshots fired and Michael and Seymour reappeared. Jackass got back into the car with Seymour and drove off. I hopped onto the bike with Michael behind me. I floored the gas and drove through the tall grass and mud with a blue hummer behind me. I exit the grass and got onto the road and the speed came back to my bike. I flew down the road and as I came to the end, I slammed on the brake and did a one eighty, racing off and making the hummer crash into a tree.

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"Keeping Virgil away from your mom, that's just about keeping her from danger?" I asked Michael as we walked up the pathway to Seymour's house.

"What else would it be?" Michael asked.

"Well, they do have a connection, Michael. A romantic connection. An intimate, steamy connection." Michael peered down at me as we walked up the steps to the house. "I'm just saying that when an important woman in your life meets someone, it can be an adjustment."

"Is this about your date? 'Cause I'm fine with it." His heart skipped a beat. Fine my ass. I laughed.

"I don't think so, Michael. Not one question about who he is? You're not in the least bit interested?"

"No, not interested." His heart skipped another beat.

"I thought spies were meant to be good liars. Might want to check that heartbeat of yours. It keeps skipping. I think it's broken." Michael rang the doorbell and Jackass opened up and we followed him out back to the pool.

"Oh, hey, how you doing?" Seymour asked. "Jackass. Fruit smoothies for my friends. That's all he's good for. And lay off the wheatgrass, will ya? Hey, guess what? That Ukrainian guy…finally paid me my money, and here is your cut." Seymour tossed a wad of cash to Michael who tossed it back at Seymour.

"Seymour, we don't work together!" Michael said. "No more tests, no more buys, no more Bulgarians. I just want information about where I can get a certain rifle serviced."

"Oh, right, the Dragunov."

"Yes. Do you know anyone in Miami who would modify it, calibrate it? I just want a name, and keep it quiet."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll make some calls."

"Thank you."

"But first, you got to have a fruit smoothie. Because if you wanna be a badass, you gotta eat healthy, right? Come on, I made them just for you." Michael turned and left. "He doesn't like fruits?" I followed Michael, shaking my head. "I thought you and me—Badasses, yeah!"

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I was driving my motorcycle to the movies when my phone rang. A picture of Michael appeared in to bottom left corner of my helmet. I pushed a button on the side of my helmet to answer the call.

"Not a good time, Michael. I'm going to a movie."

"Poppy, it's—" Michael wheezed. "It's Patch, yeah. I'm not gonna make it into the office."

"What's going on, Michael?"

"Yeah, yeah. The doc said that I can't get out of bed. So, I came down with something. So, um, if you need anything you can call me at extension 1820." The line beeped. I pushed another button on my helmet and Michael's picture was replaced by Sam's picture.

"Hey, Dawn." Sam answered.

"Michael just called me from a bar. Does the number 1820 mean anything to you?" I asked.

"Yeah, a place in the marina, why?"

"I'm gonna miss my movie."

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I saw Michael and two men get into a black mustang. I crashed into the back of the mustang and the two men got out and I got off, taking off my helmet and hanging it onto the handlebars.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry." I said. "I—I was adjusting my helmet and I didn't see you and—Let me give you my insurance information." I lifted up the seat of my motorcycle. "Oh, so silly." I laughed. "Okay."

"How about just you're number and we'll call it even." The man said. I giggled.

"Do you have a pen?" He shook his head. I closed the seat and skipped over to the mustang and leaned down in the window to Michael. "Do you have a pen?"

"They're not letting me leave." Michael whispered. "Tell Sam the fake heist is on for real now." He handed me a pen and I took it from him.

"I missed my date. Thank you." I walked back over to the man.

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"Seymour has our information?" Michael asked as we walked up to the house the next night.

"He didn't say." I said. "Just wanted us to stop by his place. He sounded more paranoid then usual."

"You missing a date for this?" My silky blonde hair was up in a neat bun and my silk sapphire blue dress hugged my legs.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself. Seymour promised to upgrade Fiona's laser targeting assist. I'm doing this for her." Michael rang the bell. "Said I could pick it up tonight. Should be quick. I have no intention on missing anymore dates."

"You look beautiful, Dawn." I was about to say something when Jackass opened the door and I walked in with Michael behind me. We walked into the living room. "So this guy, is he nice? Your date?"

"Yeah, very. He's a paramedic. I think you'd like him." Michael stood and front of me.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on it." Seymour came up behind Michael and whacked a metal baseball bat into Michael's side. Michael groaned and dropped to the ground. I gasped as my collar was torn off my neck and Jackass pointed a gun to my head.

"What the hell did you get me into?" Seymour asked, pulling Michael up off the ground with the bat over his neck, choking him.

"I was wondering the same thing."

"Who the hell are you, huh? Why do you keep asking me about that sniper rifle?" Seymour hit Michael with the bat again and Michael landed on the floor on his back. "You start answering questions, or your girlfriend gets a bullet in the head."

"I'm not his girlfriend." I said. Michael looked at me. He then kicked Seymour in the leg and Seymour cried out in pain, dropping the bat and landing on the ground. Michael grabbed a can of gunpowder and threw it into the air. I slammed a lamp onto Jackasses head and he fell to the ground and I picked up the gun. "I just bought that damn collar." Michael grabbed Seymour and slammed his face into the counter.

"Seymour! You wanna tell me what that was about?" Michael asked.

"Dude, look." Seymour said. "I tracked down a shop that done some work on the gun you're asking about. The place was burned to the ground, man. They killed the guy who owned it. I thought you were setting me up for something."

"Who brought the gun in, Seymour?"

"I don't know." I picked up the can of gunpowder and dumped the rest of it onto Seymour's face. "No, I swear. I swear. All I know is some guy picked up some stuff for it, ok?" Seymour spitted. "Specially calibrated muzzle brakes, night sights and a fiber optic camera." He spitted again. "That's all I know!" Michael let Seymour up.

"Who's the guy? What's his name?"

"They said his name was Purdy Tail, okay? That's all I know. I swear. Please don't hurt me." I cocked the gun and pointed it at Seymour.

"Just because I don't like guns, doesn't mean I won't use one." I said.

"Dawn." Michael said and he pushed my arm down. "We were never here. You understand?"

"I got it." Seymour spitted. "Never saw you." I grabbed Fiona's gun and walked out of the house with Michael behind me.

"Sorry about the dress, Dawn."

"I'm not." I said. "Fiona's got this baby with laser targeting assist. Maybe now she won't bring guys to the house. You think Tail has something to do with the people who burned you?"

"Have to assume so. He's putting an optic camera on a sniper rifle. That's for proof of death. We'd better find this guy. Now we've got his name, but he could be anywhere."


	7. Chapter 7

I trotted up the sidewalk beside a fluffy snowy white male shifter with thick long fur and round blue eyes. We headed to Michael who was leaning against his car. We sat down in front of Michael and looked up at him.

"Michael, I want you to meet…my brilliant, adorable, shifter, paramedic boyfriend, Finch." I nuzzled my muzzled under Finch's chin.

"Hey, it's great to meet you, man." Finch said. "Dawnna tells me you're a soil scientist."

"Yes, yes. I love my dirt." Michael chuckled. "I'm sorry I called so early. If this is a bad time—"

"You didn't wake us." I said. "We were already up." I rubbed my nose against Finch's cheek.

"Finch, would you mind excusing us for a minute? I have to talk to Dawnna about something personal. A family thing.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. No problem. I'll go order some breakfast." Finch said. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Mmm!" I moaned, listening to my stomach growl. He rubbed his nose against mine.

"I know you gotta be starving too. You want some pancakes, hon?"

"Mmm. Mmm!" He shifted and walked into the nearest café. I turned back to Michael. "Don't you just love him?"

"I've been hired to kill a woman." Michael said.

"You're changing the subject."

"Yes, but I'm serious. I don't know who wants her dead. I have to find out and I need your help." I turned and looked at Finch through the window of the café. He waved at me and I waved my tail. I turned back to Michael.

"Fine. You owe me." Michael opened the passenger door for me.

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"How do you know this guy who hired you?" I asked Michael, getting out of the car and walked across the park beside Michael, hands stuffed in my pockets.

"We worked together in the Balkans in '91, '92. It was a crazy time. He seemed somewhat sane in comparison." Michael said.

"And now he kills for a living."

"Yeah, he made some poor choices before his death. Fifteen people watched Larry walk into an oil refinery right before it blew up. Apparently, it was his way of taking early retirement." A gray car pulled up in front of the museum. "Okay, that's Ginger." A woman got out. "Larry said she splits her time…between the hospital and the museum. They're having a charity event here."

"Doesn't exactly sound like the kind of woman anyone would want dead. Who's bankrolling this?"

"Well, that's what we need to find out. Then we blackmail them, make them pay Larry to walk away. Then Ginger lives. I need to speak with Ginger alone, preferably someplace quiet." I sighed.

"Well, I can put you in the same room as her. But I'm not telling her she's been marked for death. That's your job."

"Fair enough. But then you keep watch on her afterwards."

"Are you trying to keep my away from Finch?"

"Who?" He walked away from me with a smile.

"Funny, Michael, I'll have Fiona do it. Her relationship, unlike mine, is on the rocks."

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I walked around the museum, snaking my way through the crowd, champagne in hand.

"Well, aside from a few really hideous dresses, there's not much to be scared of in here yet." I told Sam, through my Bluetooth.

"He's gotta be around there somewhere, Dawn." Sam said. "He's tall, dyes his hair. Face like a ferret." I looked over to the staircase and saw a man that matched the description.

"Where did the man in black come from?"

"Wait a minute. You've got him?"

"He's good. He came out of no where. Good looking too."

"Yeah, he's alright, I guess. But he's no Finch though."

"Who is? He's the only boyfriend I've ever had who comes with his own ambulance." I watched as Larry pulled out a spray bottle from his pocket and sprayed Ginger's fork. "Larry just sprayed Ginger's fork with something."

"Wait a minute. That's probably atropine. You might wanna tell Ginger…she's about to have a heart attack." A chiming noise sounded through the room.

"Lunchtime. Gotta go."

"Hey, Dawn, don't be a hero here, ok? You got a problem you let me know." He hung up and I took my spot next to Ginger and Fiona. I took Ginger's fork and replaced it with mine.

"Take a couple of bites. Excuse yourself to the bathroom. I'll follow, discover your body and call 911."

"Bon appétit." Fiona said. Ginger clutched the left side of her chest.

"Excuse me." Ginger said.

"You all right?" I asked. "Ginger?" I got up and followed her. She collapsed on the floor and paramedics came rushing in. I followed her outside to the ambulance and climbed into the back with Finch and Sam and some other girl were in the front. "You were fantastic." I grabbed Finch's face and kissed him.

"How can you be so relaxed?" Finch asked. "I'm serious, never again."

"Hey, Ginger." Sam called from the front. "How you doing?" Ginger sat up in the stretcher.

"Well, I'm alive." Ginger said.

"Well, that's good, right?"

"Where to, Sam?" The woman asked.

"Anywhere you want, buddy. Hang on!"


	8. Chapter 8

I walked into the loft to see Michael drilling nails into his balcony door.

"Dawnna." He greeted me. Finch came in behind me. "And Finch." Michael lost hold of the drill and drilled into the wall above the nail. I crashed down onto the bed.

"Michael. It's good to see you again." Finch said as he sat a drink down on the counter. "Got you a yogurt drink. Dawnna said you'd like it."

"Thank you. Is this a social call?"

"Oh, I think we socialized enough for one day." I smiled naughtily at Finch. Michael walked over to the counter, making the drill whirred. "It's purely business. Tell him."

"Yesterday, a call came in about a guy passed out on the street." Finch started to explain. "My ambulance was the first one on the scene. It was crazy. I mean, somebody had worked this guy over. He took a lot of blows to the stomach area. He was coughing up blood. I'd say this guy's in real trouble. Well, I was kind of hoping maybe you and Dawnna could talk to him. I know you guys help people."

"Yeah, now is a—" Michael began to say. "Well, the timing couldn't be worse."

"Michael, Finch almost got fired helping us with our last job." I said.

"Oh, it's—it's okay, Dawnna." Finch reassured me. "I know it's a lot to ask." I hopped off the bed, shifting in the process, nails clicking onto the wood floor as I landed.

"If Michael's too busy, I'll handle it myself." I let electricity crackle around my tail as I headed to the loft door.

"Dawn, stop." Michael called after me. I turned back to him. "You shouldn't do this job alone."

"So you're saying you'll talk to him?" Finch asked.

"Yes."

"That's great! Thanks, Mike. Thanks."

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I sat across from Michael sipping some ice tea and Nettle sat between us.

"I work for a company that does private bodyguard work." Nettle began to explain. "A few weeks ago, I met this guy Ant. He says he was a corporate headhunter. He seemed like a good guy. But when he started asking about security procedures, I got suspicious and I stopped returning his calls. A few days later, my best friend, a guy that I've known since I was ten—They said he committed suicide. I knew it wasn't true." Michael and I exchanged looks. "It didn't make sense. Then I got a call from Ant, and he said that more people will die if I don't cooperate…or if I call the police."

"They're planning a kidnapping." Michael guessed.

"Yeah. They're going after this Venezuelan family, the Wings. Oil money, I think. Whenever they come to Miami, they hire a bodyguard for each of the family members. A shifter or dog or something too."

"Do you know who Ant's planning to take?" I asked.

"He wanted to know about the guard for the daughter, Holly. I told him I hadn't assigned a team yet. He wanted files on all the guards, and I said no. And that's when he worked me over. He wants the personnel files by tomorrow. The family—They get here in a few days. I don't know what to do."

"I'm gonna need those files." Michael. "And whatever else you have on the Wing family."

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I sat on Michael's bed going through files next to him.

"I remember when kidnapping used to be a mom and pop business."

"Everything's going corporate these days, Dawn, even kidnapping." Michael said. I picked up Holly Wing's file and awed at the picture of her.

"Holly needs a new bodyguard and a shifter."

"Lucky us. I guess I'll need a, uh, company personnel file."

"I could do that. Give you a drinking problem, some money issues, ex-wife, couple of kids. You'll be the easiest target to get leverage on."

"Since when are you so enthusiastic about doing paperwork?"

"I just wanna do a good job."

"You like him that much, Dawn? Finch?" I looked down at him and then back at the file.

"Yeah, maybe. What do you think of him?"

"He's nice." I held back a sigh. "Listen, uh, I need to go over to my mom's for this family thing. I'll call you later." He got up and left.

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"He looks a little jittery." I said, looking at Nettle across the street sitting on the park. Michael and I were pretending to look at hats. "You think he'll hold it together?"

"Fear is the greatest motivator." Michael said.

"Oh, I don't know about that. Look at why you're doing this."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, you wanted to protect me."

"What are you doing it for?"

"I wanted to make Finch happy."

"Here we go." I looked at the park bench to see two men sit down on either side of Nettle. "That must be Ant…and the muscle."

"He'd better go for it. If I did all that paperwork for nothing, I'm going to shoot someone."

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I sat at the counter in Michael's loft next to Fiona. The loft door opened and closed and expected Michael's sweet scent to fill my nose but instead strong alcohol replaced it and burned my nose.

"How'd it go with Ant?" I asked.

"Told him about the security and got a bug into his car." Michael took his jacket off and tossed it onto the bed as he made his way to the fridge.

"Time for a demonstration of Holly's airtight detail." Fiona said. "So Sam's in the Buick. Dawnna's with you. Who's the other member of our little team?"

"I was thinking about calling Nate. I was hoping you could monitor the bug from here."

"Nate? You're asking your brother for help on a job?" Fiona asked.

"I'm trying to be supportive." Michael looked in the fridge, then at Fiona and back again. "Fi, is that my last yogurt?" Fiona and I exchanged looks.

"There's some tuna tahini in the oven." I said. "You r favorite."

"Mmm." Michael opened the oven.

"Finch made it." He closed the oven. "He's so grateful you're helping Nettle."

"You know me—anything for Finch." Michael made his way back to the loft door.

"By the way, you never told me what you thought of him."

"Oh, no, I told you. No, he's nice. I'm just gonna go out and pick up some yogurt. Be right back." He left.

"You don't even like this Finch guy, do you?" Fiona questioned me.

"Not one bit." I said. "He just doesn't turn me on the way Michael does."

"It's your destiny to be with him, Dawnna."

"With Finch?"

"No, you idiot, with Michael. I don't know when you two will realize that."

"Hey, you didn't tell Drake the truth about Michael did you?"

"No, why?"

"'Cause he would probably kill me."

"You want some advice, Dawnna dear?"

"Yes, please."

"Break up with Finch. Make Michael see that you're in love with him and only him. And eventually, with a few hits to the head, Michael will realize that he's in love with you too. It's—"

"Destiny, I know, Fiona. You only said it about a million times."

"Then, get your head out of your ass and fall in love."

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"Just hold still." Finch told Michael as he began to clean a wound on the back of Michael's head. Finch cleaned the wound and pressed to fingers to it to stop it from bleeding before putting a bandage on it.

"That's Finch's gift." I said. "To heal. Some shifters are born with multiple powers like me others are only born with one like Finch."

"Yeah, I'm still learning."

"So, it's happening." Nettle said. "Ant's gonna take Holly. I thought there was a plan."

"This isn't just a snatch and grab for kidnapping insurance." I said, remembering what Fiona told me about what she heard on the bug. "Someone's putting the pressure on her father's oil business. There's a lot at stake."

"So that's it. He's just gonna take her, and there's nothing we can do?"

"Well, it's trickier now, Nettle." Michael said. "But I'm hoping I can still get him to call it off."

"How?"

"If Ant thinks Michael's gonna blow the job, go to the cops, hopefully he'll decide there's no way he can pull it off."

"But he said he'd kill you." Finch said.

"I know." Michael said. "I just have to make him believe that I don't care."

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"So is Mumble the security guard ready to change his life?" I asked, shifting to dog form and pacing the floor.

"Just about." Michael dialed a number and got up and sat in the chair and held the phone to his ear. "Ant, it's Mumble." Michael spoke in one of those drunk tones. Kind of like you start to feel sorry for the guy kind of tone. Nice and slow. On the edge of about to cry. I laid down a yard away from the chair and flopped over onto my left side, feeling the soothing, cold draft under the balcony doors. "I'm not doing it. I'm not helping you kidnap that girl…I couldn't sleep tonight, so I came down, I started watching TV, and there was this Bible program on, and it was like—It was like they were speaking to me. And suddenly I realized—For the first time, you know, I saw…They said this thing: _As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens another man. _And I realized—Proverbs 27:17—" Michael looked down at me. "That's you and me." My electric blue eyes shot up and looked Michael right into the eye. "You showed me the way…No, I'm done with that. No more drinking, no more hate." All the while Michael talked, he never took his eyes off of me. I rolled onto my stomach and lifted my head. "You, guys at work, my ex wife—" I knew he was saying ex girlfriend in his heart. "You're all angels sent here to test me…The kidnapping. I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna help you kidnap that girl. I see that…Now. It was all a test…Don't you see I'm not afraid." My eyes began to fill with tears. "I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm free." Michael snapped his phone shut. I got to my feet and lowered my head, keeping my eyes on Michael. I let out a low, sad, long, morning whine.

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I sat across from Finch beside Michael and Nettle was across from Michael beside Finch.

"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't responded to the 911 call." Nettle said. "Thank you, really."

"They did all the heavy lifting." Finch said.

"Well, whoever Ant was working for must have been pretty disappointed." I said. "I heard and he tripped and fell on a knife last night in jail."

"He fell on a knife?" Nettle questioned me.

"You're safe, Nettle." Michael said. "But I'd keep your mouth shut about all this."

"Oh, no problem. The family's keeping this really quiet…and really stepping up the security. Oh, Holly—She's been asking why you're not around anymore. What do I tell her?"

"Tell her Mumble the security guard had to take some time off for some personal issues." After we were done eating, I left Finch and Nettle alone and followed Michael out to his car.

"So what do you think of Finch?" I asked Michael. "You still haven't told me."

"Why is it so important what I think about your boyfriend?"

"'Cause I want you to like him."

"I'm happy that he makes you happy."

"Oh!" Michael's phone rang. "Give me a real answer, Michael. Oh, saved by the phone." Michael answered it.

"Yeah, Ma." We walked up to my bike. "What do you mean? What's wrong?...Tell him not to say anything…I'm gonna call you back." I got onto my bike and Michael got on behind me and called Sam. "Sam, is Carla there…I need a ride." I handed my only helmet to him and he put it on as I floored the gas.

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I laid beside Sam on the dock, my front paws dangling over the edge. Fiona and Michael stood behind us, staring at Carla.

"Well, there's our mysterious operative." Sam said.

"Any idea on what's going, Sam?" Michael asked.

"Nope. She just checked out of the hotel and came over here. That's it."

"Just say the word, Michael, I have my bow and arrow in my bike." I said.

"Tempting, but since she's the only one who knows what's going on, might wanna keep her alive." Michael said as he looked around. "It's a setup."

"What?" Sam questioned him.

"What are you saying?" Fiona asked.

"She knows we're here." Michael said. "She's gonna have her sniper take out her target now. She wants me here watching her when it happens."

"How can you be sure, Mike?" Sam asked.

"I can't, but it's how I would do it. Last ferry's in an hour. If I can get home, get that access card, I can get to the sniper before he takes a shot."

"Sounds good. I'll get to his house, see if I can catch him there." Sam left.

"Still leaves me free to shoot Carla." I said.

"Dawn,"

"Just sayin'"

"Soon as I leave, they'll be on me. Fiona, can you?"

"Yes, I can." She answered and walked off.

"Dawn," I shifted and headed to my bike not letting him finish. I got on and handed him the helmet as he got on behind me. I floored the gas and drove over the grass and onto the sidewalk, avoiding Carla's men in the parking lot. I got onto the main street and headed to Michael's loft. Fiona was behind me, blocking Carla's men from getting to me and Michael. I went to the backstreets and made a sharp left, Michael's weight almost tipping the bike over. Fiona took out the last car and that's when Carla appeared. I felt like I was in a video game. Last Level. I drove under a bridge and came out the other side and turned right down a road to see a semi truck blocking the road. "Slide under it!"

"I won't make it!"

"Yes, you will!"

"Yeah, maybe if it was just me but I won't make it with your weight!" I was coming closer to the semi truck.

"Dawn,"

"Michael, I won't make it!" Five yards to make up my mind.

"Dawn, just do it!"

"I'll kill us both!" Four yards.

"Yeah, if you don't do it, she's going to kill us both!"

"I doubt that." Three yards.

"She'll kill you."

"Maybe." Two yards.

"Dawn,"

"I can't , Michael." One yard.

"Dawnna!" I slammed on the brakes and turned my bike sharply to the left and tilted it with the help of Michael's weight. The bike slid under the semi and pulled Michael and me with it. I got up to my feet with Michael and picked my bike up and got on with Michael behind me and drove to his place.

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I pulled into Michael's loft behind his charger and got off as Michael answered his phone.

"Yeah, Sam. We're home. Did you make it to the sniper's house…Dead? Why would anyone—" I trudged up the steps to the loft slowly. The left side of my body burning. I pulled out my spare key and began to unlock the door. "Slow down. Just tell me. What happened, Sam? How?" I began to open the door when an arm wrapped around my stomach and began to pull me over the rail. I just saw red and orange and all I felt was burning pain. Then, nothing.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up with a start and doubled over in pain. A warm hand touched my left hand. I looked up to see Michael.

"Easy, Dawnna." Michael said and his voice resurrected me. I looked him over. Not one burn on him.

"You're not hurt." I said.

"Well, a few cracked ribs and a cut here and there. I would have been worse if it wasn't for you or my car."

"What do you mean?"

"We fell onto the roof of my car."

"No, the other part. You mean, if it wasn't for _you, I _would be more damaged."

"Sam said that you used your firepower or whatever to put a shield around me but it didn't go around you."

"I didn't do that. I mean, I didn't mean to do anything."

"You've been out for a couple of days. Uh, Finch called a couple times. Uh, to make long story short, he, uh, he broke up with you, Dawnna. Fiona got footage from a security camera nearby, find the face of the bomber. We just need to find a name. Carla's curious too."

"Oh, fun, Carla." I tried getting out of bed, but my legs immediately crashed and I began to fall, shifting as I went. I landed on my right legs and yelped as I felt like a thousand knives were pushed into my right side. I fell forward, my jaw hitting my floor.

"Yeah, well, I should say _I _landed on the roof of the car. You just landed on the edge and fell off." I got to my feet and put my weight on my left side. My left legs began to tremble with lack of strength.

"I think I'm going to go lay down again." I limped to the balcony and crashed down onto my left side, sleep taking me as a hostage.

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Sam had dropped off some kids at Michael's loft while Michael was out. I was just getting to know them when Michael came back.

"Sorry. I was, uh, delayed." Michael said, choosing his words carefully. I wrapped my tail carefully around my legs.

"Oh, that's okay, Michael. I was just getting to know your guests." I said. The brother stood up to shake hands with Michael.

"Hey, I'm Cory." He said. "This is my sister, Tanya."

"Hi, I'm Michael." Michael introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet." Tanya said in a small voice.

"They told me about their situation." I said, shifting, using the counter for support. "It seems this man—Felix? He took Tanya for a ride in his car and then he attacked her. And she escaped, barely. And then Cory went after him with a baseball bat."

"I found her crying in the street." Cory explained. "I wanted to make sure he never tried to come back—"

"No explanation necessary. Use a golf club next time. Greater force to a smaller area."

"Uh, yeah. But now he's after me. His guys came to my house. They tried to shoot me in the street. I don't know where to go."

"It's fine. We'll take care of it." My fingertips burned with flames inside me.

"Would you excuse me?" Michael said as he walked over to me. "Dawnna, can I talk to you out on the balcony?" I followed him out to the balcony.

"Michael, I am going to say this once. We are helping those kids." Michael turned to face me.

"Dawn, this is a job for the police."

"Oh, sure. When Felix kills Cory, we'll have more evidence for when he comes after this girl again."

"You made your point. We can get them out of town."

"No. They've done nothing wrong. They're not going anywhere. This sick son of a bitch is going somewhere and this is not a discussion." I turned to go back into the loft but Michael grabbed my right wrist and held it up so I could see that flames had engulfed my entire hand.

"Dawnna, you're letting your emotions get the better of you."

"No, I'm doing better than that." I squeezed my fist, making my blood boil and searing Michael's hand. I shook my wrist free of his grip and shook the flames out. "I'm letting my feelings run the show, and I feel very strongly about this." I let an electric wave ripple through my body.

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"Felix mainly works out of that club," Cory told us as we sat in Michael's charger outside of the club. "His crew boosts cars for the 24K syndicate. That's him. Next to the G.T.O." I saw two black men by the car. "Man, what was I thinking? He's a stone cold gangster."

"He doesn't deserve to be called a gangster." I said. "Anyone who attacks a fifteen year old should be called a pervert."

"It's just—ever since the word got out, his whole gang's after me, the whole 24K crew."

"The _whole _24K crew." Michael said, looking over at me. "Oh, this is getting better and better."

"See that guy he's talking to, the one with the glasses by the table?" I looked to see a big black man with sunglasses on. "That's Tony Soto. The boss. Felix earns a lot of money for that guy. Any car that gets boosted from here to midtown—it's his guys. Listen, seriously, I don't think there's anything you guys can do."

"Oh, don't worry, Cory." I said. "There's a long list of things that we can do."

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"You know just for the record when I said favor, I was thinking, like, find somebody's lost dog or something like that." Sam told Michael. I was crashed on my left side on Michael's bed while Michael, Sam and Fiona were at the counter.

"You're going to have to work a little harder than you're used to." Fiona said.

"I work plenty hard, lady. I just make it look easy."

"Cory's up against an organization." Michael said. "Felix is well connected."

"Then we'll just have to disconnect him, won't we?" I said. "Tony won't back Felix if he goes out of business. A new gang of car thieves is coming to town."

"You want to take him head on?"

"Well, then we got to stash Cory and his sister somewhere for a bit." Sam said.

"Yep." Fiona said.

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"So, the front of the place is pretty well guarded, but that's it." Sam said, scouting the club. Fiona, Sam and Michael were all dressed in professional bad ass looking clothes wearing black sunglasses. I sat on the hood of the charger my black fur freshly groomed and my solid red colored collar standing out.

"And Felix?" Michael asked.

"He's hangs around back. He's there now. Oh. Fresh from the printer."

"Shall we?" Fiona asked, getting out with Michael and Sam. I hopped off and padded next to Michael's right side to the back of the club. Fiona blew up the back door and Sam went in first, cycling the shotgun.

"Good afternoon. Let's get those hands up. I'll thank you to back up against the back wall, keep your hands where I can see them. Nice. Comfortable?" Fiona came in behind Sam with Michael and me behind her.

"Hello, Felix." Michael said in a sexy, hard, emotionless tone.

"Who the hell are you people?" Felix asked. Michael took off his glasses and set his gun down and I sat beside him.

"Name's Johnny. We have a lot in common. We're both in the car theft game. Only we work Miami, and you—well, you work someplace else. You have forty eight hours. After that, we'll make your travel arrangements for you." Fiona poured Michael a shot of vodka and kept pouring even after the glass was filled.

"Leave town? I'm supposed to be scared to be scared of some fancy ass suits, a shotgun and a mutt?" I bared my teeth and flattened my ears against my head, letting out a deep growl.

"You might want to watch what you say around her. She doesn't that term."

"What term?"

"The term you just used."

"Mutt?" I barked, mu jaws shutting with a snap.

"Told you, she doesn't not like it."

"You better get the hell out of my establishment."

"I hear ya. You're busy. You got a lot to do. After all, you only have—" He drank the shot of vodka.

"Forty seven hours, fifty nine minutes and ten seconds—" Sam said.

"Left. Trust me, Felix. You wanna move on. You got a lot of headaches here you don't need. Miami, very humid in the summer." Michael picked up his gun and put his sunglasses back on. "And you got all these people you have to manage. Plus, your place in on fire." Fiona pulled out a lighter and dropped it onto the counter on the spilt vodka, flames igniting. Michael turned and headed out of the club with me behind him.

"I'll kill you!" Felix yelled.

"Take care." Sam said, dropping behind me and Fiona behind him.

"You hear me! Do you hear me?"

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"Did you see the shopping list your mother gave Sam?" I questioned Michael, heading into the loft, my nails clicking on the wood. "Cory is eating is eating his own body weight in cereal every day." Michael stopped by the bed and took off his jacket. I stopped in front of him and sat.

"He's a growing boy." Michael said.

"I have to say I like this Johnny. He's has flair. He reminds me of you cover back in Dublin when we first met. Do you remember what you called yourself?" Michael began to take off his shoes and looked down at the ground.

"Michael McBride." He spoke with that same Irish accent. I smiled my toothy smile.

"Michael McBride. Hmm. Sometimes I wonder if he's the one I fell in love with." Michael still spoke with an Irish accent.

"I wouldn't be surprised. We caused a lot of mayhem, you and I." He looked up at me. "He was your type of guy."

"Yes, he was. Where'd he go?" I cocked my head to the left.

"Well, you know how it is with cover ." He dropped the accent. "You become who you need to be." I closed my eyes to remember that night.

"And everyone gets to guess who you really are." I shifted. "I'll see you later, Michael. Fiona has an appointment at A.S.A Dismantling and Demolition." I stopped by the door.

"Dawn, if she sees this guy—"

"I'll be sure that she'll give him a kiss for you."

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I stumbled as I landed on the pitted earthen floor and a shifter flung himself onto my back. I let myself keep falling until I was rolling sideways, sending the shifter right over me. I jumped to my paws and spun around to face the small, pale colored mutt; the name White flashed through my mind. I waited for him to launch himself at me, then dodged away and flicked my front paw into her face, knocking her out.

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Fiona and Sam stood beside the charger and we looked across the street at the club to see Felix come out to see his crew tied up on the ground. Michael leaned against the trunk of the car and I sat on the trunk, letting Michael run his hand through my thick neck fur. Michael called Felix and Felix answered the phone.

"I bought you a little going away present." Michael said.

"Call this a present?" Felix asked.

"Yeah. They're alive."

"Yeah, but you won't be." Felix pulled out his gun, cocked it and pointed it at Michael. I stood up on the trunk and bared my teeth and flattened my ears. Fiona and Sam pulled out their guns and pointed it at Felix.

"I'm good to go if you are. You really want to do this in front of all these people in broad daylight."

"You just wait, Johnny Boy."

"Oh, I'll wait." Michael checked his watch. "I'll wait twenty three hours and fourteen minutes." Felix hung up and went back into the club. Michael's phone rang and he answered it. "Yeah."

"Hello, Johnny." A man's voice said. "This is Tony Soto. Maybe you heard of me."

"You're Felix's boss. Yeah."

"There's a car coming up the street."

"I see it."

"I want to talk to you and your beautiful dog."

"Well, go ahead and talk. That's what's phones are for. Maple can hear."

"No, in person. Get in the car."

"Get in the car? I'm new to Miami but are people here really that stupid?"

"I'll leave two of my guys with your people, unarmed, to guarantee you two's safety. And I'm not asking. I'm telling. Now get in."

"Keep these boys company. We're going to meet Tony Soto." I hopped off the trunk and followed Michael into the car.

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Michael and I walked through the bar to the other end and Michael sat down at a table across from Tony. I sat on his right side.

"Behold the ghost haunting Felix Cole. Where you from?" Tony asked.

"Around." Michael said flatly. "Why are we here?"

"You got style, Johnny. You're aggressive." He imitated an explosion. "I like that."

"Nice to be appreciated."

"Felix has been a good earner, but any guy who let's someone punk him like you did, let's a seventeen year old kick his ass with a baseball bat—I can't have that kind of weakness in my house."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Which brings me to my question. What exactly do you want?"

"My team doesn't like competition. Well, Maple does like competition. She clears the path and we take the territory. She wants out team to be the only game in town. She's selfish that way."

"I'm selfish this way. Nobody operates in this neighborhood without dealing with me." He snapped his fingers and a large, lithe, sleek, slender, well muscled, compact blue gray she dog with thick, glossy, dense fur, a pink nose and round, clear, ice blue eyes appeared at his eyes and growled menacingly at Michael. I got to my feet and growled back, snapping my teeth.

"Careful. Maple hasn't lost a battle in a very long time. She'll deal with you. Now call of your dog and she'll back down." Tony whistled and the dog sat. I reluctantly sat back down too. "Now listen. Felix is an amateur. He steals a few cars for sell and leaves the rest off in chop shops. Go to a high school. A kid could do that. Us, we deal in high end export, shipping them overseas, at a markup."

"Overseas? How do you get the cars through customs?"

"We clean them and clone them—untraceable. Sell them twice at the price. Now, I can't have these idiots running around boosting minivans with a shim and a screwdriver." Tony laughed.

"You can talk, Johnny. I'm gonna give you that. But let's see if you can deliver." We followed Tony outside to see a car pull up. "Hot off the street. Bring it back clean. Show me how it works. You could be my new car man."

"Felix is out?"

"Felix is out." Michael opened the passenger door for me and I hopped in. He got into the driver's seat. "Or you are."

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I picked up the phone and called Michael.

"Michael, I believe Fiona just found your bomber."

"Who is he, Dawn?"

"His name is Brian Connolly and he works part time for A.S.A."

"I guess we know what he does with the rest of his time. Can you get a home address?"

"What do you think?"

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I called Michael up when I arrived at Brian's place.

"Yeah, Dawn."

"Michael, I believe I found your bomber's house."

"All right. I'm on my way."

"The bad news is, looks like no one's lived there in a while. Mail's piled up in the box, newspapers stacking up. I think I may go in and poke around a bit while I'm waiting."

"No. I don't want to disturb—"

"You think I've never broken into a house before? Come on, Michael, I'm a former professional thief."

"Dawnna, just take it easy and be careful." I hung up and walked across the street and up to the front door. I picked the lock and slowly opened the door to make sure there was no booby trap. I closed the door behind me and walked slowly through the somber living room. I took one more step and something clicked under me. Fire ignited from lamps and from the walls. Firetrap. Flames were around me and I couldn't find a way out. I shifted and took a step back from a flame that almost caught my fur. I looked around for something and my eyes landed on the only window in the room. Flames were underneath it, licking at the glass. Then, I remember what I did to Michael when we almost got blown up. _Sam said that you used your firepower or whatever to put a shield around me but it didn't go around you. _I could only make my hands ignite with fire. But what if I make my whole body ignite? I could make a shield around myself. I concentrated and stepped back a couple of steps and ran full speed, jumping over the fire and crashing through the window, not knowing if I was burned or not.

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The loft door opened and I turned on the bar stool to see Michael by the door, soaking wet, his clothes sticking to him.

"There you are." I said. "You have got to get a landline in here. Connolly rigged his place to burst into flames. No surprise, but I let my curiosity get away with me." Michael dropped his keys and started to make his way towards me. "I created a fire shield around me and jumped out of a window. Lost my phone in the process." Michael stopped in front of me and looked down at me, his green gray eyes filled with sadness. I gently touched his hand. I saw a burning house and then saw Michael trying to get by cops to get into the house. Then, I felt worry, sorrow and fear. I pulled my hand back. "Michael, you didn't think that—" He reached up his right hand to touch my face and then placed his left on my face. It was cold and warm at the same time. The droplets of water sank into my skin as Michael reached down to kiss me. His lips soft against mine. I wrapped my arms around his wet torso and he picked me up and fell backwards onto the bed, me on top. I began to kiss and lick his neck, occasionally nipping at his earlobes. Before I knew it all of our clothes were off. He began to moan as I started to work my way to his chest. In one swift move, he flipped me onto my back. "Michael!"

"Shhh…" He pinned my arms above my head and began doing the same things that I did to him. He inserted a finger in my core and began to pump in and out of me slowly. My deep gasps and moans turned into high pitched whines and I knew I was about to reach my orgasm. Abruptly stopping, I let out a gasp. Michael sat up and pulled me into his lap so he was facing me. I guided Michael into my hot, wet center and tried to move. Instead, once he was fully inside me, he held my hips still. He looked up into my gray eyes. He drew my head closer for a kiss. As we kissed, Michael urged me to move my hips. As I moved up and down on him, driving him deeper and deeper into madness, Michael couldn't hold back any longer and dug his nails into my hips as I slammed into him. He buried his head against my chest and screamed out a string of expletives. As he pulsed inside of me, I reached my end as well, wrapping my arms around him and biting down on his shoulder, trying hard not to scream. As our breathing returned to normal, I climbed off Michael's lap and laid down on the bed. He laid down next to me, and we both exchanging soft kisses and caresses. All of our problems and fears would wait until the morning. For now, we were the only two people in the world and that was all that mattered.


	10. Chapter 10

"What is the big deal with this bomber?" I asked, padding beside Michael up to Seymour's house. "If we looked for everyone that tried to kill you, we'd do nothing else."

"I need to find out what this guy knows." Michael said.

"Well, if there's anyone in Miami who can track down a bomber, it's our old friend Seymour here."

"Hope he's still not mad about the face full of gunpowder last time we dropped by."

"Well, he was pretty enchanted with you once upon a time." I stopped in front of Michael.

"Pretty enchanted with me? Yeah. He showed it when he attacked me with a baseball bat."

"Will you tighten my collar?" Michael kneeled down beside me.

"You know, Dawn, if, uh—if you wanna talk about what happened the other night—"

"There's nothing to talk about. We were just blowing off some steam, right?" He was quiet as he tightened my collar. Something caught my eye. I turned my head towards Michael and nosed open his shirt to see a burn mark on Michael's left side. I don't remember that being there. Until…until after that night. "I did that, didn't I?"

"We should go in." Michael stood up and walked to the back of the house and I followed him. "Dawn, you want to take care of—" I shifted.

"Yeah, I'll go take care of Mr. Security over there…while you say hello to Seymour." I walked over to Jackass and stood there acting like I was just part of the party.

"Security!" Seymour yelled when he saw Michael. Jackass started to pull out a gun but I grabbed his arm twisted his wrist making him drop the gun and kicked him in the knee to make him fall to the gun. I picked up the gun and pointed it down at Jackass. "Nice going, Jackass!" Seymour pulled a gun out on Michael but Michael disarmed him. They talked for a minute before Seymour turned back to his confused guests. "All right. What' everybody staring at? This is a party." Seymour said some other things to Michael and then turned to Jackass. "All right, Jackass, see how they just laid you out again? That is called teamwork, people. And it is a beautiful thing. So, up and at 'em." I helped Jackass up. "Hit the blender and make some smoothies. Mango."

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"Dawn." Michael called after me as I headed out of the backyard of Seymour's. "Dawn, I need a favor. Uh, I need to put some money together."

"Seymour said he'd front you." I said.

"Yeah. Seymour's not that type of guy I would like to owe money to long term."

"You wanna borrow money? If you need cash, you can get a job like the rest of us."

"I can't fill out a W2. If the people who burned me…find out I'm looking for a job, they'll wonder why I need the money." I stopped and turned to him.

"I just passed on a gig for some art dealer. Someone's stealing paper clips or something dull. Pay's good. You take a job under a cover I.D., no one needs to know."

"You're the best."

"Mm-hmmm. I expect a commission, Michael." I walked off.

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I laid on the bed, my front paws dangling off the edge. Fiona, Michael and Sam crowded around the counter, looking at a floor plan.

"I got to tell you, this corporate espionage stuff is kind of fun." Sam said. "You know there's no guns, no explosions. It's like going on the kiddy rides at the carnival." Sam chuckled. "So, uh, any idea how our spy got his way into the art dealer's office?"

"I know how I'd do it." Michael said. "Cleaning crew comes around midnight…from the service entrance here, away from the gallery cameras."

"Well, that's good, because then there's no door codes either…" Fiona said. "'cause the cleaning crew opens them up for you."

"Get in, find a hiding place, let everyone clear out."

"And you got the place to yourself." Sam said. I let out a loud snort and Fiona, Michael and Sam slowly turned around to face me. I raised my head off my paws.

"As stimulating as all this is, I still don't see why you called me over here, Michael." I said.

"It always helps to bounce ideas, Dawn." Michael said.

"Uh, hey, Fi, there's a wonderful view of the ocean out on the balcony. Wanna check it out?" Sam asked Fiona.

"Absolutely." Fiona said, going out onto the balcony while Sam followed behind her, beer in hand. I hopped off the bed and jumped onto the barstool, squeezing all four paws onto the seat. I leaned into him.

"Is this about the other night?" I asked. "Is this about me not staying for breakfast? Or me burning you?"

"Is it so strange that I would want your opinion on a job?" Michael questioned me, staring at the floor plan.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that's all this is." He looked up and opened his mouth and took a deep breath.

"I have to go see Gray." Michael grabbed his jacket and left.

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I sat on a couch beside Sam, drinking my Nutty Irishman. I looked over at the fat man over by the bar.

"That's our boy." I said, finishing my drink and turning back to Sam.

"Mmm."

"Bigger in person."

"Mmm. Recently divorced. Lives here at the hotel. He spends a good chunk of his time bouncing in and out of rehab." Sam chuckled. "Looks like he's ready for another visit. You sure you're up for this?" I took the bug from Sam and put it in my bra and took off my collar and handed it to him.

"Planting a bug in a cellphone. You think I can't get a guy to go up to his room?"

"No, I'd say you have the gift of getting men to make bad choices."

"Michael told you."

"He didn't have to."

"Well, don't look at me. He started it."

"Dawn, Mr. Orr is waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

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"Maple, we're making progress." Michael said. Michael and I met up with Maple at the bar to update her. "We should have everything we need in a couple of days. You just need to sit tight."

"Sit tight?" Maple questioned him. "Gray is acting weird. He's walking around the office, staring at all the employees, checking people's desks."

"That means he's getting paranoid." I said. "That's good. The worse it gets, the more he turns to Michael for help."

"What if he knows?"

"There's no way he rebuilt the security footage from those hard drives yet." Michael said. "Now, the most important thing is for you to just act completely normal. Pretend that nothing is going on."

"I'll try. I gotta run. It's nice meeting you, Dawnna."

"You too." I said. I turned to Michael. "You know, pretending nothing's going on is easier for some people than others." Michael stared down at me and opened his mouth to say something when his cell phone rang and he answered it.

"What have you got, Seymour?"

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"Your bomber is holed up in that little cottage right there." Seymour said from the back seat of the Saab. "His girlfriend run over this morning for a little, uh, together time." A man opened the front door and looked around the yard.

"Booby trap on the front door." I said. "I guess he's not expecting any more visitors." A girl kissed the man and walked off as Michael picked up his binoculars and looked at the rest of the house as the man went back inside.

"That's no problem. I got the shotguns and those breeching rounds I bought. They'll cut through that wall like it's cardboard."

"Or my bow and arrow can."

"That would make a little bigger bang than we want." Michael said. "The door isn't the only thing rigged to blow. Look." Michael handed Seymour the binoculars so he could look. "I'm gonna do some scouting, figure out a better route for an approach. Dawn." He looked at me. _Watch him, _he mouthed. He got out and went to walk the perimeter.

"Man. That guy." Seymour laughed. "I mean, it's like he sees around corners, you know?" He chuckled and I turned to look at him. "So what's up with you two? You're not together anymore?"

"We're in, uh, different spaces, Seymour." I sighed.

"Different spaces? Give me a break. As a practitioner of tai chi, let me tell you something, missy. Go with the flow of the universe. All right? It's destiny, you two." I let out a light laugh. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just Fiona said the same thing."

"She's a smart girl then. You don't argue with destiny. It will kick your ass." He sighed. "Believe me."

"I'll keep that in mind, Seymour."

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I followed Michael into the loft and he closed the door behind me. Fiona was on the bed while Sam was behind the counter, rummaging through the fridge. He closed the door, beer in hand and turned to us.

"I can drink this outside if you two need some alone time. Fi and I can look at the beautiful view again." Sam said. Michael and I exchanged looks.

"Drink it here, Sam." I said, shifting and hopping onto the bed beside Fiona.

"So, Seymour find your bomber?"

"Yeah." Michael answered. "The place he's staying at is wired to blow if we so much as knock on the window." Michael pulled a yogurt from the fridge.

"Yikes. Well, in other news, I got a lead on a precision drill…we can use on Gray's file cabinet. Buddy's gonna give us a break." Michael phone rang and he answered it.

"Yeah, Maple, what's going on?...You're at the office? You're not supposed to…You're at the office on a weekend? If you used your employee security code, Gray will know that you're there…Maple, he's not just gonna leave document around for someone to find…It's a trap. He knows you're there. You need to get out right now." Michael rushed out the door, keys in hand. Fiona, Sam and I were right behind him. "Maple, listen to me very carefully. Are you in the copy room?...Get a box of paper, some duct tape and extension cord…Tape the cell phone to the top of the box and run a wire behind it and put it in the gallery entrance. Do it now. I'm on my way." He hung up as he walked down the steps to his charger. He looked up at us. "Fiona, you got explosives?"

"I'll pretend you didn't just ask that." Fiona said.

"I have to take a more direct approach with Gray."

"I like the sound of that." I said, wagging my tail.

"Mike, you want me to come with you?" Sam asked.

"Uh, no." Michael said. "I want you to get in touch with Gray's hit man."

"What about me?" I asked.

"Sorry, Dawnna." And with that, Michael was gone and Sam and Fiona left me, tail dropping and puppy dog eyes.

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Michael pressed himself up against the house and I rounded the tree. I looked at Michael. He pointed at his eyes then the bomb on the window then at me. I nodded. I nicked an arrow into my bow. I had super glued a water bag on the tip of my arrow. I pulled back on the string and aimed at the bomb and fired. The bomb was knocked off and the glass shattered. Michael stepped in front of the window and shot a water bag at Brian's stomach who fell to the ground.

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I sat on the hood of the charger, tail over my paws when Michael came down the steps of Seymour's place.

"That was quick." I said.

"I got the account number…used by the man who hired Connolly to kill me." Michael said. "I just need to turn it into a name."

"Hey. Sorry." Seymour came running out of the house to us. He stopped and pulled out two long wooden boxes. Michael gingerly took one. "It's a little something I had made for, uh—Well, it's in honor of our first operation together. Go on, open them." I looked up at Seymour.

"I don't have disposable thumbs, idiot." I said.

"Right. Sorry." Seymour opened the box for me and Michael opened his. I looked inside.

"Oh!" I looked at the knife in my box and the knife in Michael's box. "Matching throwing daggers." Seymour picked up my knife and slid it under my collar. "That's…very thoughtful, Seymour."

"And if you look at the engraving there, it means destiny." Michael looked up from his dagger at me, I avoided his gaze. "It's a symbol of your bond. So. I'd better get back. You know, uh, don't wanna leave Jackass alone too long with the captive." He went back inside.

"That was kind of sweet."

"You know the morning after we, uh—" Michael couldn't seem to finish the sentence but I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yeah."

"I brought you garlic chicken, shrimp with melted butter. But you were gone." He stared down at his knife, his turn to avoid my gaze.

"My favorite. Maybe next time, I'll have to stay." I hopped off the hood of the car and padded into the shadows, becoming a friend of the night.


	11. Chapter 11

I trudged up the steps to Michael's loft with Michael behind me. As I reached the door, I saw yellow biohazard tape across the door. I ducked under it and walked inside with Michael behind me. People in white suits and masks were examining the kitchen and tearing up Michael's favorite chair. A guy with a clipboard came over to us and lightly placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry." The man said. "For your own safety." I eyed the gloved hand on my shoulder and the man's eyes.

"Don't touch me." I said. "For your own safety."

"According to the board of health, this loft if unfit for human habitation." Jason Bly's voice sounded and he walked over to us. "And here I thought it was just a dump." He looked me over. "Dawnna Spider. You look less furry than usual." I made a move to shift so I could attack Jason but Michael grabbed me and pulled me to his side.

"You know, I was on the fence about that chair." Michael said, changing the subject. "Thanks for making up my mind for me."

"I hope that you're on the fence for about everything you own because toxic mold could be anywhere. There's been reports of spores spreading to places you wouldn't believe." Jason grabbed a beer bottle from the counter and smashed it onto the ground. "Nope. No mold in that one."

"Try the lamp. I was always iffy on it. You know what? Thanks for watching out for me, Bly. I'm gonna grab some clothes. Call me when you're done." Michael turned to get some clothes from upstairs but a guy stopped him. Michael glared at him.

"Oh, man, piece of advice, you don't mess with Michael Westen. He will kick your ass." I said. Michael turned back to Jason.

"Michael, don't worry." Jason said, picking up a duffel bag and handing it to Michael. "I, uh, packed you a bag with some clothes to wear. Um, I have to say, for a tough guy, you sure dress like an Easter egg."

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"I don't want to go in." I whined as Michael and I approached a bank.

"Come on, Dawn." Michael said.

"I'm not in a mood for a job."

"I'll buy you some garlic chicken afterwards."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"You always have a bad feeling." Michael opened the door for me and I walked in. A girl met us at the door.

"I saw his car drive past three times." The girl, Dream, said. "He walked by, looking in. I'm the assistant manager. I can't have him in here making a scene."

"This is a private bank?"

"We're an appointment only private bank and safe deposit company. Very exclusive, very private. You can understand why I can't have—"

"Has Tan been asking you about your work, your schedule?" I asked.

"All of it. I'm just afraid he's some kind of maniac." Michael smiled and pointed to something behind Dream and me. I turned to look to see Jason. "Who's that?"

"Oh, just an old friend." Michael said. Michael left Dream and I followed him over to Jason who was sitting on a couch. "Did you get bored redecorating my place?"

"I'll redecorate your life if I have to." Jason said. "You find that file?"

"Not yet. Let's talk later."

"Actually, later's bad for me. Now's good. I want every piece of paper that mentions me—files, phone records, the page in your diary where you drew little hearts around my name. All of it."

"You really wanna do this, Bly? You really wanna go nuclear?"

"I'd love to. Do you really think you have nothing to lose?"

"Michael—" Dream called to Michael. "He's here—the stalker." A man in a suit with four other guys behind him came into the bank.

"He's not a stalker." I said.

"This is a robbery." The man shouted. That must be Tan. People gasped and exclaimed. "Stay quiet, follow our orders or people die. You'll find your cell phones are now useless. We've blocked them. So leave them on the floor and head into the conference room." Nobody moved. The guy pulled out a gun and fired into the air and people screamed. "Now!" We got into the conference room with the other hostages. Jason and I eyed the guards.

"We all get guns, we can cover the playing field." Jason said.

"Uh, the playing field is covered with hostages." Michael reminded him. "Make a move now and somebody could get shot."

"If we don't make a move now, we not get a chance later." I said, itching to jump into action.

"Just wait, all right?"

"Shut up. Move back with the others." The guard ordered. We did as we were told. I fell back behind Michael and eyed the guard outside. I pressed myself up against the wall and grabbed the wrist of the guard as he entered the room. I bent his wrist back and grabbed his gun but something hit me on my back, making me drop my gun and fall to the floor. The guard picked up his gun and pointed it at me. I rolled onto my back and saw Tan also pointing his gun at me.

"That's quite enough of that." Tan said. "She's a shifter. Get her collar." The guard hooked two fingers under my collar and tore it off, leaving me powerless. "Welcome to my retirement party. I want you all to have a good time, so let's lay down a few ground rules, shall we? No attacking the hosts. No leaving early. No calling the police. I see one cop, I kill three of you. I see two cops, six people die. You can do the math. Now mess up my party by breaking one of my rules…and you can expect me to overreact." Tan pointed the gun back at me and fired, the bullet landing in the right side of my stomach. People screamed and agony ripped through me as I clung to life. Michael began to make his way to me. "Hey. Get away from her."

"I'm a doctor." Michael lied. "If I don't stop the bleeding, she'll die."

"Then, let her die."

"You have twenty one in an unstable psychological state. If they think they're going to die, they will panic and they will fight back. I'm just trying to make sure that you get what you want and that these people stay alive. Will you please allow me to attend to this woman's wounds?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Thank you."

"Let's go take a tour of the vault." Tan took Dream and some other guy to the vault. I coughed, heaving for breath as Michael knelt down beside me.

"Forget it." I stuttered. "To big of wound."

"Don't talk like that, Dawnna." Michael said, smoothly. "You'll be ok." Michael gingerly moved my hands from the wound so he could lift up my shirt. More blood spilled out. I shuddered as I felt my body grow weaker with the lack of blood.

"Michael, sorry."

"You'll be ok. The bullet's still in there. I need to get it out."

"Stop bleeding."

"I can't with the bullet still in there. Bly." Jason came over to my left side. Michael took off his jacket and pressed it onto my wound. I let out a cry of pain and my eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to go get some supplies." Michael got up but I managed to grab his hand and pull him back.

"Please." A tear slipped from my eye and I clung to Michael's hand with the little energy that I had. "Don't leave. Please." I was scared. If I was going to die, I want to at least die with Michael by my side.

"I'll be back. I promise, Dawn. Just be sure that you're still here when I get back." He got up and left and I drifted off into nothing.

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"Wake up, Dawnna." Jason's voice woke me up and I gasped for breath. "Thought I lost you there for a second. Michael would probably kick my ass then kill me if I let you die. So, try to stay with me." I looked around but didn't see Michael anywhere. I started to heave when worry clung itself to me. Where was he? How long was I out? How long was he gone?

"Michael," I whispered.

"He's…" The door to the conference room opened and Michael appeared. "…right there."

"Ah, there you are." The guard said. "What took you so long?"

"Uh, I was just—" Michael began to explain but the guard didn't let him. The guard slammed the butt of his gun into the side of Michael's face and Michael fell to the ground. He shook his head to clear it and then crawled over to my side with a first aid kit. "How are you feeling?" I choked on my own spit trying to laugh.

"I've been shot. How do you think I'm feeling?" I questioned him. Michael smiled. His smile gave me energy, gave me strength, a reason to stay alive, to keep fighting.

"Elevate her on your knees." Jason went behind me and lifted me up onto his knees.

"Oh!" Pain shot through me.

"This is for the pain." Michael handed some pills and I took them.

"Who said I was in pain?" Another smile.

"If you're not now, you will be." Michael pulled a bottle of liquor from the bag and poured some on my wound. I yelled in agony, pain crawling over me like tiny spiders. I clung to Michael's leg and groaned.

"It's too big, Michael. You can't stop it."

"Don't talk like that, Dawnna. You are not dying. Not today." Michael looked down at me, his eyes filling with tears. "This is going to hurt." Michael picked up some pliers and dug them into my wound, trying to get the bullet. I dug my nails into Michael's skin as he grabbed the bullet and pulled it out. "Got it." I exhaled sharply as more blood came out. He cleaned up the blood and quickly started to stitch the wound.

"We're making some progress on the wall, but they're checking on us." A man told Michael. "We need maybe twenty minutes."

"You've gotta go faster. Keep working."

"They're empting the vault downstairs." Dream said. "They're taking everything." My head rolled to the side and my eyes began to close. A hand tapped my cheek, waking me back up.

"Wake up, Dawnna. Not yet. You can't sleep yet. You got to stay with me, ok?" I looked up into his eyes and saw tears in his eyes as he fought them back. "You have to stay with me, Dawn. Ok? You have to. How much more longer till they clear out?"

"I don't know. There's hundred of safe deposit boxes down there. And he wasn't lying about the silent alarm. No call went out. No one's coming."

"Hide the hole." Jason said as a guard walked into the room.

"Tan wants you. Downstairs. Let's go." The guard ordered Michael. Michael quickly wrapped my wound and stood up but I pulled him back.

"Michael," I whispered his name. Tasted like honey on my tongue.

"What is it, Dawn?" Michael asked.

"Told you I had a bad feeling." Another smile.

"Yeah, you did, didn't you?" He stood back up. "Don't let her fall asleep." Michael said. "Keep her awake." And he left.

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"Cover the hole." Jason said, taking the scissors from the guy as he tried to hide the hole. I was up against the wall when the guard walked in. The guard grabbed his walkie.

"Tan, get up here." The guard said. "We've got trouble in the conference room." A few minutes later, Michael walked in with Tan behind him. "Where's the knife?"

"There's no knife." The guy stuttered. "There isn't a knife."

"This guy was trying to cut into the office next door."

"Come here." Tan said and the guy gingerly walked over to him. "What did I tell you about the rules, huh?"

"Please, I—I have a wife. I have kids." The guy pleaded. "They need their father. I'm begging you."

"Look, if I make an exception, what kind of message does it send?" Jason then stepped forward.

"Wait, wait, you got the wrong guy." Jason said as he pulled out the pair of scissors from his pocket and handed it to the guard. "Yeah. It was me."

"Well, now that I'm thinking about it. Might as well shoot her since she's already hurt. I should have done this the first time." Tan pointed the gun at me and I closed my eyes, whispering reassuring ancient Greek words to myself. There was an explosion and I opened one eye to see that the gun had exploded and shards of metal were in Tan's right hand. He was groaning, clutching his hand. "God! Shoot her!" Michael stepped in front of me, standing between the gun and me.

"Move!" The guard ordered.

"You got metal shards in your hand." Michael said hastily. "You're gushing arterial blood. I'm the only guy here who can save your hand, probably your life. Tell your man to back off or find another doctor."

"Come with me." Tan said. "Get the rest of them downstairs."

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Four more people followed the guard downstairs. Jason laid my right arm across his shoulders and helped me up. We walked out of the conference room and Michael joined us.

"How's your escape plan going?" Jason asked.

"We're not getting out." Michael said. "I'm working on a plan B. Dawn, I need you to collapse in that doorway. Sell it, buy me time." I dropped my weight and let my arm slip from Jason's shoulders and fell to the ground on my back with my eyes closed. "Oh, no." Michael knelt beside me.

"What's going on?" I heard Tan ask.

"I think she's going into shock. I can't move her. I'll need a couple of minutes."

"You got one. You get downstairs." Jason left and Michael went into the room and pulled out the phone that he stole and dialed Sam's number.

"Forget the escape plane. Tan's moving everyone downstairs. These guys are calling a getaway boat on walkies. See if you can listen in, locate the signal. Maybe we can get some leverage. I'll try to keep people from getting hurt."

"Michael," I coughed when I saw a guard. I groaned as I sat up. Michael hung up and went back over to me. He grabbed a doorstopper and his kit and helped me up. We stopped by an elevator and Michael placed the doorstopper between the elevator doors and the wall. A guard rounded the corner as Michael finished.

"Hurry up! Move it!" The guard yelled. Michael slung his bag over his shoulders. He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders and his right arm under my knees, picking me up and carrying me downstairs.

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I stood in the vault with the others, leaning against a wall. Jason was in the front with two guards outside the vault. When the guards had their backs to us, Jason went up behind them and knocked them out. I noticed something blue hanging out of one of the guard's pockets.

"Jason, collar." I breathed. Jason got my collar and handed it to me and I quickly hooked it around my neck. I felt the energy come back to me. I felt the strength of myself. I felt the strength of my inner wolf. I felt alive again. "Stay here." I shifted and raced up the steps with a trail of blood behind me. I looked around the corner into the lobby to see two guards dead and Tan pointing a gun at Michael. Without thinking, I raced forward, leaping, knocking the gun out of Tan's hand and pushing him to the ground. I landed and my legs crumbled beneath me.

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I woke up in a hospital bed in human form. The door to my room opened and Michael appeared.

"Hey," I smiled at him.

"Hey," He greeted me.

"How long have I been out?"

"About a day." He handed me a white Styrofoam box.

"What's this?" I opened it and saw garlic chicken and shrimp with a dipping sauce of melted butter. "You didn't have to get me this."

"I told you that I would if you did this job with me. You almost died in that bank." Michael sat in a chair beside my bed. It was quiet for a moment before I spoke.

"You know, I should have died in there."

"Dawnna,"

"No, Michael, listen. I should have died. I lost a lot of blood. The bullet was clear in me. I should have been dead in the first five minutes. But I lasted for five hours. You know how?"

"How?"

"You. Your smile gave me strength and your eyes resurrected me. Your voice soothed my pain and I'm sounding like a total teenager." Michael smiled.

"You're not. I thought I was going to lose you. I really did. I don't know what I would have done if I did lose you."

"I do."

"And what would I do?"

"Crash and burn." Michael laughed and I laughed with him.

"You should get some rest."

"I don't want you to leave."

"I won't."

"Don't leave."

"I'll be here when you get up. I promise."

"Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep."

"I promise I'll be here when you get up." I held out my hand to Michael and he took it. I slowly faded into sleep, never taking my eyes off of Michael, his warmth soothing me.


	12. Chapter 12

"You didn't tell her it was Victor, did you?" I asked, grooming my chest fur as Michael came back from his meeting with Carla. "The man has tried to kill you twice, and you're protecting him."

"He's the one enemy I know Carla has." Michael explained. "I would like to at least talk to him before I turn him in." He held out his hand for his keys. I tilted my head to the side so he could take them off my collar.

"You think he'll stop trying to kill you long enough…for the two of you to grab lunch and have a chat?"

"Everybody loves a free lunch."

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"Can you show this around in areas Victor might be laying low?" Michael asked, sliding a picture of Victor across the counter to Fiona. "Cash motels, campsites?"

"Okay." Fiona said, casually. "I'll probably tell people that he's wanted in connection with a dogfighting ring. They'll call." The door to the loft opened and Madeline stormed in with Sam behind her.

"Hi, Mom."

"Don't hi mom me." Madeline growled. "You drag me out of my house at a moment's notice…and you can't even bother to pick me up yourself? You had to send Sam? No offense."

"None taken." Sam said.

"I'm just trying to lock things down as fast as I can." Michael explained. "It's just a little dangerous right now."

"How dangerous, Michael?" Madeline questioned her son.

"Just a bad guy in town. But you don't have to evacuate. You just have to stay here with me."

"With you? Here?" The gate started rattling outside. "In this dump?" Michael held up a finger to quiet her. "What?" Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Sam? You forget to lock the front gate?"

"No." Sam answered. I shifted and landed on my paws and growled softly, staring at the front door. Michael grabbed his gun from the fridge. Sam pulled out his gun and Fiona did the same while she put Madeline in the back of the loft. The footsteps continued as Michael headed to the door. He opened the door to see a woman with long curly brown hair standing there.

"Sam."

"Yeah, Mike?"

"He was talking to me." The woman said as she stepped forward and Michael stepped back.

"Who are you?" I growled, flames engulfing my paws.

"I'm Samantha. Michael and I used to be engaged." The flames went out as I stopped growling and stared in shock.

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Michael and Samantha walked out of the loft and Sam closed the door behind them. Madeline sat down on the bed, Fiona at the counter and I walked over to the balcony doors and sat, wrapping my tail around paws. A fire ring formed around me and began to rise and fall with my slow, steady breathing as I stared into nothing and let electricity crackle at my paws. Sam laughed and cleared his throat. Engaged is such a strong word.

"So, uh, another Sam." Sam said, joked, trying to lighten the mood. "This is going to be confusing, huh?"

"Have you ever been secretly engaged to my son?" Madeline asked.

"No." Michael once told me that I was the closet that he ever got. I bared my teeth and lashed out my tail against the lie.

"Then I think we'll be able to tell you apart."

"Fair enough."

"I can't believe. No, I—I can believe it. It's just like Michael."

"Look, ladies, don't be too hard on Mike. I'm sure there's a very good reason why he never mentioned her before. You know, these things just happen sometimes." I growled.

"Dawnna." Fiona whispered my name. "You need to calm down." I growled louder. Lies! That's all he does! Lie about this! Lie about that! Lies! Obviously I wasn't the closet he got! He never proposed to me! I snapped my jaws together, my teeth making a snapping noise. He never proposed to me…

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I sat on the wall behind Samantha and Michael. Fiona and Sam sat in front of them.

"His name is Tyler Brennan, a black market trader." Samantha said. "Used to work military intelligence. That's him, right there on the balcony." I looked up at the hotel to see the man. "Evil son of a bitch. About a month ago, he came to me with a job offer." My eye caught a light. I looked down to see a sapphire on her necklace.

"What line of work are you in, Sam?" Sam asked.

"Acquisitions."

"No need to be coy." I said, shaking my fur. "If you're a chief, say you're a chief. And you're a shifter. That's a collar, is it not?"

"It is." I let out a huff of air. "Brennan wanted me to rob AFC Industries. It's a defense contractor here in Miami. Prize was state of the art guidance chip. Something to do with UAV spy drones."

"UAV drones?" Michael asked her. "Tell me you passed on the job."

"Well, I tried to."

"Okay, Mike, I'm sorry but I can't help steal military technology." Sam said. "I shouldn't be hearing about it."

"I don't need help stealing it." Samantha pulled out a chip from her purse. Sam laughed.

"Oh, come on. I thought this was a get to know the ex lunch. Now, it's a nineteen government agencies are chasing me lunch?"

"No, I-I got away clean. But when they realize that it's missing, they're gonna know it was me."

"How?" I asked.

"I had to get a job working there to get access. My key car activity will give away. I'm new, I went in at night, and if you check my history, you'll see that—"

"Sam, why would you—" Michael tried to questioned her.

"I didn't have time to do it any other way. Brennan kidnapped my son. This is the ransom."

"You have a son."

"Charlie's nine."

"When did you?" Fiona asked.

"Is he—" Michael tried to ask.

"No." Samantha answered. "No, he's not, but he needs you. When I think what might happen to him, I—"

"What do you want us to do?"

"The trade's tomorrow. I don't want to give this to Brennan but I need my boy back. Please." I noticed a red marks down her right arm. I leapt across the table and phased, landing neatly on my feet. I turned to her.

"May I?" I asked, indicating to her right arm. She reluctantly gave it to me. I turned it over. The scratches were about two weeks old but deep. The cuts weren't too jagged but they weren't clean cuts either. I recognized them. "You have to the gift to suppress blood loss. That's a new one to me. How?"

"A couple shifters jumped me when I came into town."

"Did one happen to be dark brown and white?"

"Yes."

"That would be my fault. I have shifters over the city. I don't like other shifters coming in without me knowing. I'll tell them to back off. You shouldn't have any troubles when you leave."

"Thank you." I let go of her arm. I gave Michael a hard glare before I phased again and trotted off.

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"You're all clear." I said, walking up to Michael's left side and sitting. Fiona was on my left side and Sam was on Michael's right side.

"Place is a nightmare, Mike." Sam said. "I mean, you got tons of foot traffic outside here. You got so many approaches, we'll never see him coning."

"If we can't jump him on his way in, we're gonna have to let her make the trade." Fiona said.

"Are you crazy? Put military hardware in this guy's hands?"

"Do you see another way?" I snarled. "There's a kid involved."

"Nobody wants him to get hurt. I'm just saying we gotta get that chip back in the right hands soon, otherwise they're never gonna stop looking for Samantha."

"Sam, you go with Samantha to oversee the handoff." Michael said. "Brennan won't expect you but he won't blow the deal over a little backup. Fiona, walk around cover all the approaches and exits. Dawn, you set up with a view of the meeting. When you see that Charlie's safe, give me the signal. I'll take Brennan down on his way out."

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I trotted on top of a wall and Michael walked beside the wall.

"I know I owe you some answers." Michael said.

"You don't owe me anything." I said, biting back my anger.

"I knew Samantha before I met you. We were in Saint Petersburg in '97. She was helping me on a job and things moved, uh, quickly. Then, I realized that we didn't have what we needed to make it last."

"What was that? Trust?" The bitterness in my voice nipped at Michael like frosty air. I shook my head. "You know, let's not do this now. We have a job to do."

"I've always wanted to tell you. I was just waiting for the right time. " We stopped walking and I whipped my head to the right at him.

"Well, it wasn't the right time when we met. It wasn't the right time when we started dating. Why, it wasn't the right time when I moved to Miami. No, it was the right time to tell me when she showed up on your doorstep." He stared deep into my blue eyes. "Is that about right?" I didn't wait for an answer. I jumped down from wall, sending up sparks from my anger as I touched the ground. I bounded away from Michael.

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I sat in the shade, chest puffed out, head held high, tail wrapped around my paws and an earpiece and my ear so I could talk to Michael. I stared down at the meeting spot where Sam and Samantha paced back and forth.

"Tell me what you see, Dawnna." Michael said.

"Old Sam looks sweaty." I chuckled.

"Dawn."

"Just trying to cut the tension, Michael." A man came around the corner to Sam and Samantha. "Wait, there's Brennan. He used the southwest approach."

"Well, I'm in position. If he doesn't leave this way—" Flames licked the pads of my paws.

"He'll have to get past me." Both Sams and Brennan talked for a moment when a door against the building opened and a guy with a kid walked out. Samantha ran to him and embraced him. There was a cast of the Charlie's arm. Brennan pulled a black box out of his pocket, said something before walking away. A bitter smell filled the air and my skin began to crawl. I was getting a real bad feeling. "Michael?" Sam looked at me and slid his finger across his throat. "Michael?"

"I got him." Sam shook his hands, wanting to make sure I got the message.

"No, stand down."

"Does he have the chip?"

"Something's wrong, Michael." I got to my paws. "Let him go. You gotta let him go."

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"What, she lock you out?" Michael asked us as he came through the gate to the loft. Fiona sat on the steps with a mini fan. Sam and I stood by the stairs.

"No, I'm just getting some fresh air." Fiona said. I bounced a small ball of fire from finger to finger.

"Your mom's a chimney, Mike." Sam said. "Plus little miss commandos here is getting all worked up…" He pointed to me and Fiona. "About an armed assault on Brennan's condo."

"He strapped a bomb to a kid." Fiona snapped. "How is Charlie?"

"He'll be fine." Michael said. "Sam's got family in Chicago. He'll be safe there. I lent her my car to take him to the airport."

"Oh?" I gasped. "You think she'll bring it back?" Sam, Michael and Fiona looked at me. "What? She is a professional thief. It's what I would have done."

"Jealous, Dawn?" Sam asked.

"Don't be absurd. I'm not jealous." I scuffed.

"You think you could pretend to be?" Michael asked. I blew out the flame on my hand.

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"Hey!" A deep man's voice sounded above us. Michael and I broke in Brennan's place and I stood aside watching Michael play pool.

"Hey, fellas, just give me a sec." Michael said as he shot a ball into a pocket.

"It's okay, Curley." Brennan said as he walked down the steps. "Theses two are just showing me they're mysterious, dangerous types…that can break into my apartment. I should take them seriously. That's the idea here, right?"

"I'm Michael. I used to work in covert ops. This is Dawnna."

"And you're here to help me pack? That's really sweet, guys. Uh, the furniture stays. It's rental."

"We have a mutual acquaintance."

"Acquaintance?" I questioned him.

"Dawn. Samantha Keyes? She's upset about the deal that you two just did. She came to me for help. That thing she stole, she's planning on stealing it back."

"I'll bite." Brennan said, sitting down. "You're telling me this because—"

"Samantha and I used to work together."

"Samantha and Michael slept together." I growled.

"We—we worked most of the time. Anyway, everything she knows, she learned from me. All I learned from her is I can't trust her."

"And Michael has now moved on and I don't like to share. And I figured we could take care of our problem and yours."

"We're willing to help for the right price."

"Pass." Brennan said. "Even if I bought your tale, which I really don't, I think I can handle a single mom on my own, spunky though she may be."

"I know Samantha a little bit better than you do. My money's on her."

"Samantha told us that she kept a piece of your little doodad." I said. "You try to unload it, your buyer's either gonna kill you or make you fix it, and either way she gets another shot."

"You're gonna have to have it tested. I know people who can do that."

"I'm, uh, just think out loud here, but if I wanted to steal a really valuable object, going in as a helpful soul, volunteering to test it might be my first move—convince me you're on my side." Brennan said. Damn, he's good. "And hey, guys, it's a solid plan. One little caveat. I don't believe you."

"Fine. Check us out. I'm Michael Westen, she's Dawnna Spider and you need our help."

"If you're as smart as you think you are," I said. "You'll call us." I gave him a card and left with Michael.

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"Looks like he's planning on using the cash from the sale to disappear." I told Samantha. I sipped my iced tea. Michael sat across from me and to the left of Samantha.

"Anybody who's touched that chip would be hunted across the borders." Michael said. "He has to run."

"Well, he doesn't need to run to Nicaragua." Samantha said. "With the money he can get for that chip, he could but Nicaragua."

"Well, that's why he can't ignore a threat like you. If you rob him, sabotage the goods, he'll have to run with nothing. Oh, he'll call." There was a pause. "I think."

"Well, if he doesn't, there's always, third degree burns and electric shock." I smirked.

"Ooo, my ride's here." I turned to see a black SUV.

"Oh! Michael's other woman beckons."

"I'd never actually thought I'd look forward this. Excuse me." Michael got up and began to leave but Samantha stopped him.

"Oh, Michael." Samantha said. "You forgot something." She held up his wallet. They laughed and Michael left. I held back a snarl. "It's just a game the two of us used to play."

"It's charming." I said, my anger slowly fading as I realized how adorable that was.

"Are you and Michael—"

"No."

"Hmm."

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Michael and I walked into Brennan's apartment as he came up with a gun in hand and the guard pulled out a gun too.

"Uh, I checked you out." Brennan said. "Some of the stories I heard, I should have a higher caliber, probably. Especially for you, Miss Spider. Ooh, the things I heard about you. You know, just recently they started this thing in Ireland. It became a holiday there. People don't leave their houses because of fear. It's, oh, July 27, I believe. Dawn of Fear. Everyone stays inside that day, scared that Miss Dawnna Spider would come and terrorize. Wait, a minute. Isn't July 27, the day you tried to steal the ruby necklace from Elphaba's museum? But you managed to get away. Intriguing. Anyway, this isn't about your history."

"You decide to test the chip?" Michael questioned him.

"I sure did."

"Fine. I'll set it up."

"I made my own arrangements, thank you. But I thought it would be a good idea to have you two where I could see you while I did it. My friend here is gonna take your cell phones and that pretty little collar and we're gonna take a ride together. For the record, Punkin, I'm exactly as smart as I think I am."

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We got out of the car and walked behind a van to a greeky guy.

"Testing guy, spies." Brennan introduced us. "Spies, testing guy."

"What's going on?" Testing Guy began to ask.

""Shh. Everything's fine."

"You're keeping it in the Caribbean?" Michael asked as a guy came out of a plane with the chip. "Little humid out there for such delicate electronics."

"The Caribbean? No, uh, not gonna take that chance with you guys around. It's in the air. Twenty three hours a day." Brennan gave Testing Guy the chip. I looked around to count the guards but something else caught my eye. Victor beyond the fence.

"I know what you're thinking, Dawn. Not yet."

"That's not what I'm thinking. You got a visitor. I have to say his timing's perfect."

"So?" Brennan asked.

"I can't vouch for the performance, but the parts are all there." Testing Guy said.

"Off you go." Brennan handed the chip back to the pilot. "So the chip is fine. Which means your offer to test it looks less fine."

"Samantha lied to me." Michael lied smoothly. "If you knew her, you wouldn't be surprised."

"It's all so confusing. Her lying to you, you lying to me. Who can keep it straight? You know, I think a couple of bullets in the back of both of your heads…is gonna simplify things a lot." He pointed a gun at me while the guard pointed a gun at Michael.

"Yeah, well, it'll certainly simplify things for Samantha." I said.

"Please, Dawnna, I think I know who the real thieves are here."

"Really?" Michael questioned him. "The guy at the fence line on the blue pickup truck?"

"You can do better than that." Michael stared harder at Victor until Brennan turned and looked. "Friend of yours?"

"My friends don't watch me being executed. Samantha's scouting you. You think it's a coincidence that's guy's there at the same time the chip's out in the open?" Brennan started shooting at Victor and Victor shot back. He got into his truck and drove away. "You believe me now."

"Not really. Get in the car."

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"Ok, there's no way to get to the chip before the sale, no way to move the sale, no way to delay the sale." Samantha said. "That South American hut's starting to look better and better."

"What we're left with is snatch and dash at the airport when the sale goes down." I said.

"That sounds messy. Brennan's gonna have that place locked down tight."

"Well, at least I'm in charge of the lockdown." Michael said. "We're gonna have a lot of eyes on us, but we might be able to sneak in some special construction materials."

"Like we did in Germany." I smiled.

"Yeah." He smiled back at me. His beautiful eyes gleamed in the light as he remembered. I could practically watch the memory in his eyes.

"She talking about that thing you and I did in Saint Petersburg?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah." That damn bitch! Had to go and ruin the moment, didn't she? Electricity crackled at my fingertips. I phased and fell to the ground. I jumped onto the bed and curled up into a tight ball and pretended to fall asleep. "Sorry, she tries to hide her jealousy but it still shows."

"I shouldn't have said anything. You two were having a moment." Damn straight.

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"Darling, are you ready to watch me become rich?" Brennan taunted me as he walked away. I chuckled.

"I'm going to relish this." I muttered. The hangar door behind us began to close. Uh-oh. That wasn't part of the plan. Michael and I exchanged worry glances and walked after Brennan. The plane pulled to a stop.

"You can't be serious." Michael said. "You're not gonna leave the plane out in the open like this?"

"It's not that I don't appreciate all your work on the hangar." Brennan said. "I just like to change things up." A man came over to Brennan with a black handcuffed to his hand. Brennan unlocked the case from the man and the man walked off.

"Brennan, you don't understand."

"No, you don't understand. Either your security works and it scared Samantha away, in which case I don't need it, or it didn't scare her away, she's ready for it and I don't want it." A black car pulled up beside the plane and two men with black bags got out and started to head towards us. Michael walked back over to me.

"No what?" I asked. Gunshots began to fire behind us and we ducked. The buyers cussed at us in Spanish and headed back to their car. Michael and I ushered Brennan back into the hangar.

"You said Samantha was gonna try to steal the chip. Did that look like a robbery to you?"

"Jesus, you're supposed to be smart." Michael said. "The only way out for Samantha was to steal the chip and put it back. When she couldn't do that, she knew they'd find her, so she did the next best thing—she took you down with her."

"You wanted to buy a mansion and a private army in some nonextradition country?" I asked. "If I'm not mistaken, your money just left with your buyer."

"Good luck finding a new one. FBI, CIA, NSA…they'll all be on high alert and after that in less than twenty four hours."

"You used to work with Samantha." Brennan said. "You said that you were better than she was. That's what you told me, right?"

"I am. You can put the chip back at AFC and nobody'll notice it gone." Brennan cocked his gun and pointed it at us. "How stupid do you think I am? This is what you want. This, right here. You get the chip. I have to give it to you. I have no choice. This is what you want. Am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right." I said. "You have no choice. You're either gonna be killed or serving life sentence…by the end of the week unless the chip goes back."

"It doesn't matter what you believe, Brennan." Michael said. "There's one move for all of us—put the chip back." Brennan put his gun away. "And unless you know somebody else who can do that—" Brennan stepped up to Michael.

"If you try to sell the chip, if you don't put it back, I will find you." Brennan vowed. "And no clever story you're gonna tell is gonna stop me…from blow your brains out of the back of your skull. Do we understand each other?"

"Absolutely." Brennan handed Michael the chip and we left.

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I leaned against the doorway of the balcony, looking up at the full moon. My inner wolf longing to howl. To run free. The summer air sang, making the leaves of the trees dance. The loft door opened and I turned to see Michael come in. I looked back up at the moon as Michael made his way towards me. He stopped beside me. I didn't need my collar to feel the exhausted waves ripple off his body. He already looked exhausted.

"Did it go all right?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's over now."

"Well, it's late. I should go." I turned to leave but Michael stopped me.

"Wait."

"Whatever you're gonna say, it's—it's in the past."

"It is and it isn't, Dawn. Sam and I worked because she was like me. She didn't mind that my job was lying to people. She loved it. She did the same thing. It made being with her easy." I bit back a groan as I leaned back against the doorway. "And then I met you." I looked up at him. "It was—it was different. It was never easy. You knew a part of me that she never did. And I left her…because… you don't marry someone when you love someone else." He sighed and turned to go up stairs. His voice was soft and reassuring and smooth. Every bit of jealousy, every bit of anger was washed away from me. He might not have proposed to me but he love me more.


	13. Chapter 13

I ran alongside the charger into the concrete plant where we kept Victor. I slowed to a trot as the charger stopped and Michael got out. Out of breath, I jumped onto the hood of the car as Sam and Fiona came out of the cage where Victor was.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked Sam.

"Well, we've been talking to our unstable friend." Sam said. "This doesn't sound good, Mike. The big boys are coming into town. And if we don't hand him over—" I flattened my ears against my head and growled. Michael has risked too much for us to just let him go.

"We're not handing anyone over." I panted.

"We're just saying we could have a war on our hands." Fiona said. I sighed.

"Let me cancel my meeting." I made a move to jump off the car so I could shift but Michael stopped me.

"No. Don't." Michael said. "We need to keep everything like business as usual. Sam, can you pick up my mom? Take her up to Orlando. Make it look like a day trip. I don't want her in town if anything starts happening."

"I'm on it." Sam said and he left.

"Fiona, could you stay here with Victor?" Pleasure gleamed in Fiona's eyes and a smile crossed her face.

"Of course." She turned and headed back to the cage.

"Play nice."

"I always do." Michael turned to me.

"You sure you don't want me—" I began to ask but Michael cut me off.

"No, Dawn, go." Michael said. "I'll be alright." He ran his hand across my head and rubbed my ear. I let out a low whine before jumping off and running away.

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"Thanks, Nosepass." I said to the Irish Greyhound and he bounded away. I shifted and headed back to my bike. My phone rang and I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Dawn." Michael greeted me.

"Michael, you'll never believe the news I just got."

"Dawn,"

"Apparently, there's this shifter family coming into town."

"Dawn."

"Like a really wealthy family."

"Dawn,"

"But from what I heard from Nosepass, their staying at Arcanine Hotel."

"Dawn,"

"Like the most expensive hotel in Miami."

"Dawn,"

"But anyhoo, this family stole some money from this girl's family so guess what I'm gonna be doing?"

"Dawn,"

"I'm going to find what room their staying in and BAM! Their money is gone."

"Dawn,"

"This is going to be so fun. I mean, I don't know if I'm going to like robbing them or fighting them better."

"Dawn,"

"I mean, I'm good at both. And you know, that when I fight, I am down right scary as fu—"

"Dawnna Spider."

"What?" Michael sighed, relieved that he finally got my attention.

"Do you remember that drive past the factory where we first met? Do you think we could do something similar…where we, uh, picnicked last month?"

"You'll be making this drive soon?"

"As fast as I can manage." I hung up and snapped my phone shut and sighed. I placed my phone behind the front tire of my bike. I got on my bike and pulled my helmet over my head and backed out, smashing my phone.

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A yellow corvette came down the street with three black cars behind it. I could see Michael in the driver seat and Victor in the passenger seat. Once Michael passed the first car, I set my hand on fire and placed it in a puddle of gasoline. The line of gas went all the way to the first car which caused it to blow up, blocking the street. I set the other line of gas on fire and it blew up another car.

"Vroom, vroom go boom, boom!" I hopped onto my bike and pulled up to the driver's side of the corvette.

"Where did you find her?" Victor asked. Michael just smiled at me and I stepped on the gas and rushed forward with Michael right behind me.

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"Blackmail?" I questioned Michael. "That's the idea? We're doing all this so we can throw some paperwork at Carla."

"It's the smart play here." Michael. "We're outgunned."

"We'll get bigger guns. I can't believe what I'm hearing. I saw what she did to your family. If the file's so great, then why didn't you use it before?"

"This isn't just about her." Victor said. "I want the guys who call the shots. The file was just in case, enough for her to back off. If this was just about putting a bullet in Carla, it would've been over a long time ago."

"Still, putting a bullet in Carla sounds awfully good."

"Comes to that, you have to get in line."

"Yeah, about that file?" Michael said, looking at a building across the street. "Your safe house—not so safe." Victor looked too.

"She's good. I was three deep with safe houses, trying to keep this place from her. Sometimes, I'd wish for her to get a hobby."

"Which room is it in?"

"It's not a room. It's on the utility pole."

"Nice. Too bad Carla's surveillance is parked right in front of it."

"Two cars, four guys, I think we can handle it. We each shoot one and Rochambeau for the other."

"Yeah, we don't _know _it's Carla's guys. It could be ATF, FBI working off of bad intel. They could be completely innocent."

"Oh please. No one's completely innocent."

"Is that what you told yourself when you tried to kill me? Let's go."

"Wait." I said. Michael and Victor stopped and looked at me. "You seriously considering just walking in there, shooting up the place?"

"You got a better idea?" Victor asked me. I scoffed.

"Wait here." I walked to the edge of the sidewalk and looked up and down the street. I took a deep breath, not knowing what I was doing. I charged across the street and leapt on top of the black car. I grabbed the utility box off the nail. The men began to get out of the car and I climbed the pole, jumping onto the roof of the building. I jumped from building to building and jumped into a tree and shimmed down. Once I knew the men weren't following me anymore, I crossed the street and ran across the park to Michael and Victor. "And that, my dear gentlemen, is why I was a professional thief."

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Michael whistled as he looked through the file in the utility box.

"I could see why Carla wouldn't want this out there." Michael said. "She'd send a black ops team to deal with a parking ticket."

"Pretty much." Victor said. "The higher ups stay away from most operations. They have two rules: don't screw up and don't get caught. Don't get involved unless things go very, very wrong."

"I'd say this situation qualifies." I said, leaning against my bike.

"Carla has a lot of enemies from her spook days, and she's made more since. And then she made the mistake of vouching for you, big guy. This file should be more than enough to earn her a retirement bullet."

"Carla's entire work history." Michael said. "This is some pretty damning stuff. You think you can play this card?"

"When we get back to my boat, I've got the codes and comm lines to go above her head. If she knows I can get them with this, then she'll back off fast. Then we get out of town, maybe to Cuba."

"Fabulous." I said. "Great music. Lots of sexy, unemployed men."

"Dawn, can I talk to you for a sec?" Michael walked away from my bike and I followed him. He turned around and faced me.

"I'm not invited to Cuba."

"They're gonna follow us with everything they have. I need you to find Sam and Fiona and help them protect my family." I sighed.

"Can't Sam and Fiona do that on their own?"

"I know you don't like to hear this."

"You're absolutely right, Michael. I don't. I know how to take care of myself."

"I know, Dawn, I know. But believe it or not, you and Sam make a great team." The corner of my mouth twitched up for a split second. "And do you think I—"

"The bike. I expect you to bring it back clean with a full tank. Capisce?"

"I can do that." I stood up my toes and pressed my lips to his. He kissed back and it made my knees trembled. I pulled back and rocked back down onto my heels.

"It's not good bye. It's just…in case." I raised my hand and slapped him across the cheek, letting a low voltage of electricity slide off my fingertips as it made contact with his skin. He gingerly touched his cheek. "And that is to remind you to be careful." I turned and shifted. I trotted away, my head held high and my tail sweeping low to the ground.

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I walked over to a table to where Sam was sitting.

"Oh, there you are." He said. "Where's Mike?"

"He and Victor decided to take a trip to Cuba." I mumbled. "I promised that I would help you protect his family."

"Well, I promised Madeline that I would help you protect her son." Sam and I looked at each other for a minute. "The question is, which promise do we keep?" It was quiet while we thought. We then got up together and left, knowing that the same thought was running through both of our minds.

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Sam and I stood in the trees and saw Carla and her little army. She was on the phone yelling at someone and I would guess it was Michael. She held a detonator in the other hand. I nicked an arrow in my bow and aimed at Carla. I pulled back my arm and squinted at Carla to make sure my aim was right. I let go of the arrow and it whistled through the arrow and landed in Carla's right side. She groaned and fell to the ground. I strapped my bow back to my quiver.

"Finally." I breathed. Men turned and looked in our direction. Uh-oh.

"Look, I know you wanna savor the moment, but we gotta get out of here." Sam said. A helicopter above us was getting closer to the ground. I shifted and ran like hell through the woods with Sam behind me who was firing at the men who were shooting at us. Another SUV showed up. "Looks like whoever's in that chopper brought some backup." I skidded to a halt as a bullet almost hit my nose. Sam tripped over me and fell to the ground.

"Watch where you're going." He glared at me and got to his feet and we raced to the other side of the trees. I stopped and looked back at the scene, worrying about Michael. Was he alive? Or was he…dead? Then, I remembered what we did in Germany when we had to split up in the woods. I threw up my head and let out a long mourning howl for five seconds before lowering my head. I perked my ears up and listened. Gunshots fired into the air from a boat. One…two…three…four…five. The gunshots weren't one after another. It was a steady flow like thunder in a rain storm. A five word code. _I'm all right. Now go. _I let out a huff a air.

"Dawn, we gotta go." I turned and followed Sam.

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That's it for my second story. The next story will be called Destiny Three: Poochyena. It should be up by tomorrow.


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